Lelouch's Romance Dawn
by Ordinn Beaucephalis
Summary: "That's some impressive presence you've got there, kid. Tell me, how come you're not a commander yourself?"
1. Reborn

**Summary:** _"_ _That's some impressive presence you've got there, kid. Tell me, how come you're not a commander yourself?"_

 _After the dreadful events of the Zero Requiem, Lelouch Lamperouge wakes up in a very different world where he quickly understands there is nothing to restrain him from being whoever and whatever he wants to become. So he finally tastes freedom for the first time. No revenge_ _to accomplish_ _, no_ _Holy Britannian_ _Empire to obliterate. And he'll enjoy it... as he grows up once again after being reborn as a seven-year-old boy._

 **Genres:** _Drama/Adventure._

 **Fan-Fiction:** Crossover One Piece/Code Geass.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own **One Piece** and certainly not **Code Geass** (Mmpf. Those masterpieces are way beyond anything. But we can try on our own.).

/ **!** \ **Warning**! / **!** \ Truth to be told, I still don't know if _Lelouch's Romance Dawn_ is going to work... I don't know, but I won't if I don't try. If it sucks, tell me honestly. There will be mostly **Drama** and **Adventure** – some humor within the story, because of the crazy and the Strawhats. And all the characters Lelouch will get to meet. Oh, and Lelouch might be OOC sometimes... _just warning ya_!

OK, enough blabbling and on with the story!

* * *

 **Chapter One:** Reborn _._

* * *

He, who destroys worlds.

He, who creates worlds.

 _He, the boy who wanted to create a world to his liking,_

 _Fell in disgrace when the world turned against him_.

* * *

He opened his mouth in a jerky movement, greedily filling his lungs with the welcome air around him. _Breathe_ , he scolded himself as he began to cough violently with his hands around his throat. _Breathe_. His eyes were wide in muted disbelief and shock, for they couldn't assess the fact that he was actually breathing. His body ached with the painful, familiar sensation of an open wound in his chest. After a moment, he finally managed to regain control of his breathing and, with some hesitation, reached down to feel the wound... only to feel smooth skin beneath his fingers.

 _What on earth...?_

That jerked him completely awake as he hastily sat up, not believing this 'miracle'. Because there was no miracle in the world he lived in, he had had so many examples of that when he swore to protect his mutilated sister from any harm. That simply didn't exist. Was this some kind of sick joke? Was God playing him? There should be a scar in his chest, right where he'd been stabbed by Suzaku – but there was _nothing_. He felt nothing but smooth, unscathed skin. Not even a smear of blood on his imperial clothing when there should be a lot of –

"W-what?" Lelouch Lamperouge croaked, checking his attire. This wasn't his imperial costume he'd been wearing in his last moments, but modest clothes that reminded him of his younger years when he and Nunnally were trying to survive in the rough Area Eleven after having been banished as political hostages; a plain brown shirt with long sleeves and dark pants. But that truly wasn't his clothing that was making him panic.

It was his hands. They were... smaller. As if his body had somehow turned back to its younger years or something twisted like that. Was it even possible? His eyes looked wildly around for a mirror, his thoughts racing in his confused mind. _This can't be real_ , he thought, feeling faint. His surroundings were unfamiliar and, as much as it comforted him, it wasn't a tomb either. When he spotted something shiny in a bag on the sand – _sand_? –, Lelouch sprung from the mattress he'd been sitting on, only to fall on his knees into the sand.

He couldn't muffle the small yelp of pain when his strained muscles heavily protested against the rushed movement, and he shut his eyes as the world began to spin around him. Was his body reacting to the lethal wound he'd received from Suzaku during the Zero Requiem? Because feeling like he'd been drained from his energy until he was forced to crawl was just plain pathetic, and even if he was back into his seven or eight-years-old body, he'd rather have the strength to walk. Groaning painfully, Lelouch cracked his lids open and dragged himself toward the bag, using his arms even when the muscles were still exhausted. By the time he made it to the bag, he was already breathing hard – which showed how tired his weak body was. _How ironic_. He had never been the sportive kind back when he was Lelouch vi Britannia and Lelouch Lamperouge, the afterlife wasn't going to change that. Grabbing hold of the mirror, he barely managed to hold back a shocked scream when he got to see his face.

This was him alright, Lelouch Lamperouge – in his seven-years-old body. Which absolutely didn't make any sense: _why_ and _how_ would he be back in his seven-years-old form? Was this how the afterlife dealt with people when they die? If so, then somebody must be laughing at him right now and Lelouch wasn't pleased. At all.

His first thought about his new form was to think things through without panicking – which also proved to be quite the pain when his heart was racing and beating with so much force against his ribcage. Lelouch knew there was no logic in this, and the most logical fact he could think of right now was that he may have been given another chance to live; as a fallen prince of the Holy Britannian Empire and a fallen Emperor, he knew beforehand that attoning for his many sins would be a one-way trip to hell until the end of all times, but... was this _hell_? Lelouch had always pictured hell as a place engulfed in flames where the air was so hot that you could die of asphyxia – the ultimate punishment for all damned souls. But another chance at life? That seemed so far-fetched and too messed up to believe.

 _Calm down_ , he scolded himself mentally. His purple eyes traveled around, taking in his surroundings at last. The room he was in was small and quite full of furnitures that looked quite foreign – like those big earthenware vases, he'd never seen those in Area Eleven except in books about the other countries and areas conquered by Britannia. But if he were to gaze at all the charms hung on the walls, the sand on the ground and feel the hot air, Lelouch would say he was in the Sahara desert or even the Colorado. And none of these guesses made any sense to him! He almost groaned in frustration, replacing the mirror into the bag. Where was the damn logic in this messed up situation?

"Oh, awake at last?" somebody grunted behind him.

"H-huh?" Lelouch let out a startled sound, jerking. The former Emperor-now-reborn-as-a-boy whipped around, falling on his butt as he stared at the person who sneaked up on him without him noticing. It was a middle-aged man with tanned skin, sharp black eyes that seemed to have seen too much in his life and a stern expression on his face. He was wearing white robes that match the desert heat, heavy but essential in such weather (if you don't want to have bad sunburns, it would be best to wear this.).

The man eyed Lelouch with the same, stern expression. "Hey, child," he said. "I found you passed out in the desert, near my house. You were out for five hours straight, I was starting to get worried." Even though he didn't sound or look worried, Lelouch suspected there was a hint of truth in his words. "Care to explain what happened to you?"

Lelouch gulped, not knowing how he should answer that one. Tricky question, considering the fact that he didn't even know where he was himself. "I... don't remember," he mumbled miserably, casting his eyes down. He had died and had somehow come back to life as a seven-years-old boy with no throne, no title. Nothing. And he wasn't that stupid to say such thing. "You said you found me in the desert? Which desert, may I ask?"

The man looked at him as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. "... you really don't know where you are, boy?" his savior asked slowly, as if making sure he wasn't imagining things.

Lelouch had the decensy to frown a little, not scowl, to prove his point and to show that he was a bit offended. The older man hummed, standing up.

"Don't look at me like that, I had to make sure you weren't trying to fool me," he defended himself, raising his brows. "Fine, let's say I believe you really don't know your whereabouts. Most people cannot lie properly but you look so genuine that it's hard to say if you're lying or not. Well, boy, you're in the outskirts of Nanohana in the desert kingdom of Alabasta." he turned toward the entrance of his home, not noticing the confused expression on Lelouch's face as he followed the man's movements with his eyes. "An arid island where the temperature is so hot during the day that you almost end up fried like a fish in the open air, and when night falls, it's practically a winter island." He pointed toward a table, where a tray of food and two glasses of water lay. "Eat up and drink, you need to stay hydrated and rest. Be thankful that I found you at this hour of the day, boy. Others aren't so lucky..."

With that last, grim sentence, he was gone outside. Lelouch was able to catch a glimpse of a plain, desertic land before the door was shut on his face. When he realized he was alone once again, he released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

Although his genius mind was racing to remember where he could have heard of this place, the young boy knew from the bottom of his stomach that the desert kingdom of Alabasta was nowhere in the map of the world – he would have known right away. Since those names didn't ring any bell, Lelouch was seriously starting to panic; 'Alabasta' didn't sound like any other exotic language he knew, so its kingdom was a new discovery. It was also an island. An _island_! He clutched his head in impending frustration, also trying to choke down the rising tension in his chest. This didn't make any sense: history never recorded anything about this kingdom on an island, how could it exist? And what's more, that didn't explain why he was back in his seven-years-old body with all his memories. That theory he made up earlier, about getting another chance at life? _Sounds awfully a lot like a miracle to him_. And Lelouch Lamperouge knew for a fact that miracles never existed. If they did, Nunnally would be living in the ideal world he'd have created for her.

After gathering his senses, Lelouch stood up from his sitting position to walk toward the tray of food. His stomach was grumbling loudly, reminding him of how long he'd been out – five hours _straight_! He needed to eat, then he should start asking questions about Alabasta, Nanohana... and pretty much everything he had to know to pinpoint his exact whereabouts. Because if he truly _was_ reborn – he tried not to wince at the word – somewhere else than Area Eleven or Aeries Villa in the Holy Britannian Empire, then the most important things to do was to learn everything about this place. Better here than Pendragon and in the den of all the snakes he had vowed to destroy.

* * *

Lelouch hissed in pain, doing his best to keep his eyes open despite the envious need to close them and sleep. It turned out that he'd been exposed to the harsh sun of the desert way too long before his savior discovered him, so it gave time for him to fall sick and run a damn fever. While he lay helpless and brooding in his cot, Lelouch tried to extract as much information as his pitiful state allowed at the moment (who knew when he was going to fall asleep?). But the man, whose name he soon learnt was Sphinx (Lelouch had done his best not to sound sarcastic when he repeated it, feeling quite itchy to ask Sphinx if he liked riddles like the mythical creature. That would be interesting to know...), didn't seem this thrilled to answer Lelouch's questions but did anyway.

"Where is Alabasta on the map of the world?" he asked, staring at Sphinx with bleary eyes. "Is it somewhere near another island named 'Africa'?"

Sphinx looked confused as he settled a fresh serviette on the boy's boiling forehead. Then he looked down at him with slightly concerned eyes. "What are you talking about, boy? What is an 'Africa'?" he asked back, his brows furrowed. "I've traveled around the world a bit and never once in my life I've heard of an island called 'Africa' in the Grand Line. Are you sure you didn't hit your head on a rock before passing out?"

This was one of the answers Lelouch dreaded: if his savior was lying, he sure was damn good at it. But the pure confusion in both his words and expression was just too genuine to be fake. Sphinx was telling the truth. He'd never heard of Africa before – a country with areas just as arid as Alabasta – and had stared at him with this concerned expression you'd only give to people who could have concussions. And what was the Grand Line?

"I'm not sure if anyone has managed to draw a map of the entire world but if there had been someone, history would remember that person forever. As the biggest ocean of the world, the Grand Line is crawling with countless islands and loads of mysteries that have yet to be solved. People navigate in this ocean for various reasons but, in this age, you'd see more pirates lusting after the legendary One Piece than humble travelers hoping to discover the world we live in."

Despite being in this comatose state, Lelouch managed to look startled. "P-pirates, you said?" he croaked out before coughing.

Sphinx turned his unreadable dark eyes toward him. "Surely you must have heard of the late King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger? He was executed six years ago, but he still was the only known pirate who traveled all over the Grand Line. Everyone has heard about him at least once." When he was met with Lelouch's blank stare, he couldn't help but blink in utter surprise. "...really? You struck me as a bright child with those eyes earlier, I thought you'd know more than common facts."

It was Lelouch's turn to look confused. "'Those...eyes'?"

But Sphinx said nothing, only stared down at him. For a long moment, the two stared at each other, the silence only broken by Lelouch's bated breathing. When the older man chose to speak once again, his words managed to chill the former prince's insides.

"Children are naive and innocent – their eyes reflect this aspect of their personality, because eyes are the mirror of the soul. But yours show something much more... _mature_. Older. Those aren't the eyes of an innocent child but of an adult who saw horrors and had scarring experiences. You may have the body of a child, but a feeling in my guts tells me that you're hiding something; whatever it is, it must pretty big, isn't it? The fact that you seem so lost and confused is a giveaway." He leaned in, invading Lelouch's space. The latter tried to move out of his way, only to remember that he was lying in a cot and unable to do so much as move. "Something _happened_ to you, child. Something that you're willing to keep a secret as long as there's breath in your lungs."

Lelouch knew he should be panicking right now, but somehow forced himself to relax. In his state, being stressed wouldn't do him any good and would just get him sicker. But Sphinx's words did manage to shake him a lot: should he come out clean and say that he was somehow reborn in another world – Lelouch had come to the fact that he wasn't on Earth anymore, since the very idea of pirates had long become history in the world he used to live and died in. – after dying? How could he see so much just by looking into his eyes? The 'assassination' of his mother, his precious Nunnally's crippled state, wandering into the bloody warzone that had been Area Eleven while carrying his blind sister until his very last moments before Suzaku plunged his sword into his chest – all these events, all events he could recall from the second Marianne vi Britannia was murdered to the second he realized he was going to die had been stressful.

So he'd seen and experienced things that children and young teenagers weren't supposed to see. So he'd known how death could change someone's world at a very young age. So he'd felt rage and hatred, feelings that children shouldn't even know because it would ruin their innocence. So he'd wanted to destroy what made his detestable father. And he did.

He pursed his lips, finally letting his eyelids close on their own. Then he relaxed, sighing.

Lelouch chose to sleep. His body and his mind needed that, so that he'd be able to think once he was nursed back to health. Not even a minute later, he was asleep.

* * *

In all, Lelouch had been sick for four days straight. He spent so little time awake and this was just to ask questions about Alabasta and the Grand Line – mostly about pirates, the system of the World Government and the Marines. Sphinx, while still being very suspicious of him, answered all of these questions as much as possible. And even though there were complex things to explain, Lelouch managed to surprise the older man by completing his explanations by himself. His intelligence, his view of things and his sharpness couldn't be found in a normal child, Sphinx was sure of it.

He just... couldn't know why. If only he could know _why_.

Despite the boy's condition, Sphinx had quickly made out a small description of him when he found him passed out in the desert; Lelouch looked quite frail for his age, but there was something pure and royal about him. He looked no older than seven but had the mind of an adult – a genius one, what's more. Being this sharp at such a young age was so rare in this corrupt world. Lelouch didn't strike him much of a fighter, given his looks, but he compensated with his brain. Figuring out that the World Government ruled over the world like some kind of tyrant that wouldn't hesitate one second to execute people who would be a problem, without so much as blinking, wouldn't even cross a child's mind.

Still, there was something about Lelouch that made him regal; he didn't know if it was his princely looks or his sharp intelligence, but it definitely made him very interesting. His curiosity was also a bonus, since he seemed somewhat eager to know more about Alabasta, the Grand Line, the Three Powers – Lelouch had looked disgusted when Sphinx explained who were the Celestial Dragons and how mighty they thought of themselves, but otherwise hadn't said anything. A flash of anger had shone in his violet eyes when he understood that the World Government would be willing to wipe out an entire island and its people. For the world's sake, they'd say.

"How familiar," Lelouch had growled, his eyes cold.

"What is? Something from your native island?" Sphinx had mused out loud, perky.

"Kind of. There was someone I once knew who shared the very same mindset about things and people."

Not that Lelouch was particularly willing to share his origins with him, anyway. But Sphinx was still far too interested to give up on learning anything juicy about this young boy, might it be good or bad – almost everyone the older man knew had turned out to have had a dreadful childhood before becoming someone else, someone much stronger. What had Lelouch experienced to be this cold and snide when it came to politics and laws? Would he open up to him if he were to ask? Because his eyes...

They shouldn't be this cold and burning with fury at such a young age. He was hiding something and, whether it was freaking awful or not, Sphinx wouldn't try to pry. He may be a gruffy middle-aged man, but he still remembered his manners very well and respected privacy above everything else.

When Lelouch felt better in the morning of the fifth day, he'd asked about books so that he could read and learn more about Alabasta and – unsurprisingly – the world. Now that got Sphinx's interest. Why would a child want to know more about the world? Children of Lelouch's age would only think about playing with each other until they were called by their parents to come back home, to which the young boy had responded coldly by stating his parents' death. And he hadn't even looked remotely mournful to reveal that he was an orphan, which could mean that he must have had an unhappy childhood.

So he'd complied and given Lelouch books. A lot of books that talked about the history of this kingdom, other islands he had once visited at some point in his life, navigation books and even a Log Pose (so that he'd know how to use it properly and how that thing worked in the Grand Line as the compass.), history books about the creation of the Marines' corps and the World Government. Lelouch had taken them all with a thankful nod, had settled down on his bed to start reading – Sphinx had noted that he had started with the history of the World Government and the Marines' corps.

He spent the whole day reading, only getting a break to eat and sleep a little. While he's been reading, Sphinx had been able to hear some words of utter bewilderment or noises of disgust like _'I can't believe they'd be willing to go to such lengths...'_ , _'So this world might just be as multi-faced as Britannia was when this bastard was still on the throne. Not so different after all.'_ , _'Justice, justice... how intriguing.'_. But after he finished the heavy books about the World Government and the Marines' corps, he had come to Sphinx with a question.

"I've read that many soldiers in the Marines have 'Devil Fruit' powers," he said casually, but the older man could just read the question in his violet eyes. The eagerness to know was even harder to miss. "The three Admirals all have one in a common category: one that is categorized as 'Logia'. Magma, ice and light. It's incredible. What _are_ Devil Fruits? Are there different categories?"

Ah, this curiosity of his was so fascinating. Children like him were so rare to find this day. That was one of the reasons Sphinx decided to answer him.

"Devil Fruits are unique-looking fruits that will give incredible powers once you've eaten them," he revealed to one serious-looking Lelouch. "You could recognize them by those swirls they got as patterns on them. It could be _anything_ since there are so many of them, scattered all around the world. No one knows where they come from, but you'd become someone else if you ever ate one. That depends of the power a Devil Fruit could give and how you'll use it; one may know how to make use of his powers to be deadly and dangerous, but another may be too stupid and will only end up weak and easy to beat despite being a Devil Fruit user."

Lelouch seemed to consider this for a moment, frowning. Then, another question came. "But if you're a Devil Fruit user, there's a chance that you'll only rely on your acquired powers instead of also using normal combat skills to defeat your enemies, right? That's what I'd do if I were to have one, since I don't have combat skills..."

The last part was said dejectedly, but Sphinx overlooked it to appraise the kid with a smile. "That's correct. Most Devil Fruit users tend to rely on their powers because it gives them advantages on their foes, but there are some who are very talented fighters without having to use their powers. Take the three Admirals for example: they're really powerful and even if they have Devil Fruit powers, they had to work their combat skills really hard to be in the position they are."

"What other powers do they have in store?" Lelouch asked, frowning even more in confusion. "You mean there are other things you could learn to hone your combat skills?"

Sphinx nodded. "Absolutely. But only those who wish to sail the other half of the Grand Line and face greatest dangers – such as the Four Emperors – in their quest know the importance of said skills. They are even essential to counterattack Logia Devil Fruit users because their body become the element of their power – Aokiji, Akainu and Kizaru are living examples of Logia Devil Fruit users you might not want to fight, but with a very specific skill you'd acquire after going through stressful and hard training, only then you'd be able to fight evenly."

"I see," the boy nodded sagely, his frown disappearing. "And what about the different categories?"

Sphinx paused in gathering buckets of water, using this break to sit down in the shadows and answer the ever curious, but so bright child that appeared out of nowhere. "There are actually three categories of Devil Fruits repertoried in the world, as you must have assumed: 'Logia', as you already know, give people elemental powers – light, ice, magma, fire. So it's listed as the most powerful and dangerous kind of Devil Fruits, depending on the user and how he'll use it. 'Paramecia' is a bit more focused on the fact that the human is mostly targeted by modifications brought by a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. The last one is kind of more special than the other two – in my opinion, that is."

Lelouch perked up, his violet eyes shining a little in eagerness. "What do you mean?"

"The last category, 'Zoan', will give someone the power to turn into animal. _Any_ animal existing or even believed to be mythical – those Zoan-type Devil Fruits are rarer than normal Zoan-type, but they still exist somewhere in the Grand Line. However, Lelouch," he said sternly as he regained his serious expression. He waited until he had the boy's attention to speak. "Eating one Devil Fruit comes with a price."

His eyes narrowed. "I knew it. There's always a price for everything, so it's an equivalent exchange law. So, what's the catch for eating a Devil Fruit? What do we have to give up on?"

"You'll never be able to swim again. Yes, that's the price for those who ate one," he nodded to Lelouch's slight expression of surprise. Sphinx chuckled. "And there are Devil Fruit users who are pirates, sailing the sea with the knowledge that they'll kick the bucket should they ever fall into the ocean. They'll sink like anchors, helpless and powerless since the water drains their energy. Not advantageous, is it? And pretty ironic too, now that you think about it: pirates sailing the sea but unable to swim."

Lelouch silently agreed, thinking that this was quite twisted and unfair for a pirate; sailing the seas while being unable to swim was a joke but, if they somehow found a way to pull it off while remaining criminals, then maybe it was worth it. After all, being a Devil Fruit user might have its qualities and defaults. This was something he'd like to experience, should he find a Devil Fruit one day; he'd never taken swimming sessions during his time as a prince of the Empire and not even as a student at Ashford Academy. He shuddered. The fear of drowning must be quite terrible for someone who has forsaken his ability to swim. But one question bothered him.

Now that he was one-hundred per cent sure he was reborn in another world, what should he do? What should he become? There was no Holy Britannian Empire to hide from, there was no need to take part in a rebellion, there was no revenge to accomplish – after discovering what kind of mother Marianne vi Britannia truly was, Lelouch was now pondering if hanging on his revenge had been good. There was no burden of being branded as the exiled prince, there was no fear of being discovered by another member of the Imperial family. There was nothing in this world to restrain him. Lelouch Lamperouge was _free_.

So yes... what should he do? Who should he become?

There were so many choices in his hands, he realized with an incredulous shake of his head. Back in Area Eleven, it had been his choice to become a student in Ashford Academy, so that he could be safe with Nunnally. Blending in the mass of other students, albeit being Britannian, was something he hadn't hesitated to do because there had been the Ashfords. And Suzaku. But now that he was reborn in the Grand Line, Lelouch wondered what he could become if he were to choose. He looked at his body, frowning. Back when he met Suzaku, the boy already surpassed him when it came to endurance, martial arts and speed. Lelouch had never been trained to such things, and he was sure his 'mother' had never intended for him to become a Knight or a soldier. But if he were to become someone in the Grand Line, he should try to train himself into martial arts – several ones – and harden his body even more. Suzaku had been amazing, but Lelouch had always preferred mind games and tactics.

Well, maybe it was time to become both. He couldn't just be all brains and no brawn. So what if Lelouch Lamperouge could be brains _and_ brawn? What would be the outcome of such training?

Sphinx was in the process of dragging two heavy bags of seeds when he noticed Lelouch's thoughtful expression. "Say, why did you want to know all this?" he asked curiously. "Surely it can't be just curiosity."

The boy sat down on his cot, shaking his head. "I'm just weighing my options," he said, crossing his arms. "I'm wondering about my future. What should I do? What should I become?" He raised the book about the history of Alabasta. "The books I've read about this kingdom are fascinating, but those talking about navigation, the World Government and the Marines really held my attention. Enlisting in the Marines would be quite the challenge – if not suicide considering how dangerous their assignments must be when it comes to dealing with pirates – but I'm sure that becoming an agent of Cipher Pol is just as hard and gruelling. No, in fact, whether you decide to become a pirate, a Marine soldier or an agent of the World Government, it's just this demanding.

"And I'm currently trying to choose whoever and whatever I _want_ to become, which is proving to be just harder than I originally thought." Lelouch allowed his body to fall back on his cot, casting his thoughtful gaze up to the ceiling. His frown deepened a bit. "Being given a choice... back home, I've never thought it to be actually possible for me to choose whoever I wanted to be. It was _'Do this, and you'll be good for the rest of your life._ _Do that, and you might know what hell would look like._ _'_. How magnificent." He was careful not to let anything slip past his tongue; his bloodline, his origins and the old world he used to live in – all these must be jealously and zealously kept from everyone, Sphinx included. "But a pirate's life is also dangerous and the chances of dying are high in the Grand Line, if it's as perilous and nerve-wrecking as the books say. You're an outlaw, judged and most of the time scorned by those who despise pirates. But the Grand Line seemed to be an ocean born for people with dreams, as foolish as they might be, yet reachable if they try hard. And that... that is something I'd like to experience."

Lelouch was no fool, for he was sure that the underworld also existed; making business with human traficking was a possibility as well but, as the late older, loving brother of a crippled girl he loved with all his might, he'll never allow himself to sink that low. Never again. He'd deemed his time on Earth as an excruciative failure when the Code failed to bring him back to life after bleeding to death from the stabbing wound, so this time... this time, Lelouch Lamperouge was going to live. Be it as a pirate or a Marine soldier, whatever. He just wanted to live.

As for a dream? He didn't have one right now. Most pirates sailing through the Grand Line, who came from the Blues, braved the Reverse Mountain to face the terrible dangers of the greatest ocean of this world and try their chance to become the new King of the Pirates. The One Piece, though it might just be a legend, truly spurred this Great Pirate Age. But Lelouch was sure about one thing: he wasn't going to stay in Alabasta forever.

"... if I want to become someone in this world, then my intelligence alone won't be enough." The Code may have backfired on him when it failed to bring him back to life and give him immortality, but it somehow _did_ give him another chance at life. It might even have rid him of the Geass. Whether it was to atone for his sins or else, Lelouch wasn't going to waste it. There was too much to explore, too much to learn and experience. He was going to taste everything this world had to offer.

With resolution and determination burning in his violet eyes, the boy jumped to his feet and turned toward Sphinx, who had long abandoned his sacks of seeds to look at him in a new light.

"Sphinx, what can you teach me to become a skilled fighter and survive?" Lelouch asked politely, his gaze unwavering.

It was the older man's turn to look surprised. "...how could you tell?" he wondered aloud.

"These robes might be baggy-looking, but those broad shoulders and those muscled arms are the result of hard work. I'm sure that you're hiding muscles under your clothes, which are the result of an intense training you must have had in your younger years. Plus," Lelouch added as he pointed to the two heavy sacks of seeds. "those sacks of seeds weigh so much, and I haven't seen you falter one single time when you carried them so easily outside. You never pant, which also means that you have endurance. You have speed, incredible reflexes for someone your age. Whatever your skills are, I'll need them to become to explore the Grand Line."

Despite his shock at Lelouch's thorough analysis, Sphinx managed to gasp out. "So you've decided to sail the sea? What will you become?"

"I don't know yet, to be honest. But I've already made up my mind, Sphinx." He narrowed his purple eyes at his elder, squaring his shoulders. "Will you help me? Please?"

There was so much in those young eyes – eyes that had seen more than they should have and knew more than their share. This child... _Lelouch_... Sphinx had a feeling that he could become someone powerful with his intelligence one day, if he also decided to train his body in order to harden himself. Both in mind and strength. He could.

Sphinx's lips quirked ever so slightly. The boy knew he was very inexperienced and would die really early if he didn't take his precautions first before sailing the Grand Line; that was why he had asked for books about almost everything – getting knowledge about the Three Great Powers, the World Government and all other dangers he might have to face, should he decide to become a pirate... or a mere explorer. He had common sense, he was intuitive, he had a brilliant mind he could use to its full extent...

And he also had a sort of _presence_. In his eyes, there was an unwavering determination burning like the sun. However, it was this _presence_ that made him look impressive; Sphinx could feel it around him, in this very room. It was shaking it, ever so slightly, but it still managed to make the feathers he had attached to the ceiling flutter. He may have only seen it once in his whole life, but he couldn't tell otherwise. There was no mistaking it – he definitely hadn't imagined that _presence_.

"Heh," Sphinx snorted, his eyes glinting in the small ray of sunshine that passed through the window. "I think I like you, kiddo."

* * *

It was during this particularly chilly night that Sphinx decided to contact one of his friends, when he assured that his brand new student was sound asleep. He couldn't help it, he had to share it with someone, he was sure, would be greatly interested in this kid.

" _Make it quick, Sphinx,_ " the voice in the Transponder Snail said, its expression devoid of emotion. " _I don't have much time to spare you, especially in this kind of assignment I've been given_."

"Ever so busy, eh?" Sphinx said sarcastically, rolling his dark eyes. Then he sighed. "This impatience of yours will get you someday, you know."

" _Sphinx_." There was a hint of warning in the other male's voice.

"Sheesh... I found a strange boy passed out in the desert days ago. Don't know where he came from, but he just seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. You must be annoyed by now that I called you to talk about some random kid but, if I were to trust my instincts and my guts, I'd say there's something about this boy. And you know that my instincts and my guts have never failed me, right?"

The second man at the other end of the Transponder Snail was silent, only staring at Sphinx with the same stony expression, but the Alabastan man knew he got his attention right now. So he proceeded, spurred and smiling all the way.

"There are so few exceptions in this world, and children releasing this kind of aura are so rare these days. Ever since Gol D. Roger died six years ago, we haven't seen many talented people roaming the seas – in fact, they were so limited and pitiful that I've lost interest in piracy. But now, Lelouch just arrived. He was able to tell that I'm a well-trained fighter just by looking at me, even though all I knew is that he's been reading book after book. This kid has such a bright mind, it would be a great waste if he were to remain in this desert kingdom."

" _Lelouch... is that the kid's name?_ _It sounds... royal._ _You said he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere? How can you be so sure of that?_ "

"Because he was stark naked when I found him," Sphinx drawled casually. "If I were drunk, I'd say he fell from the sky or something like that... but besides that, he has qualities that will make him someone into both the Grand Line and the New World, should he decide to become a pirate. I'm going to train him. It will take two or three years, give or take, to teach him all the secret martial arts of Alabasta and if the Conqueror's Haki manifests in him when he's in a great deal of stress –"

" _I'll take him_."

"– I'll make sure to – wait, _what_?" Sphinx stopped short, blinking as if he heard wrong. "What did you just say?"

" _Don't make me repeat, Sphinx. You heard me right._ _Back when you were still with us, your instincts and guts have never failed you – not even once. So, if you're right about this Lelouch, then I'll come to take him and complete his training myself._ " There was a small pause, during which both men seemed to be reaching a silent understanding between themselves. " _You did say you still had about four years and half, right?_ "

Sphinx's expression darkened a little bit, and his eyes were shadowed as he lowered his head under the moonlight. So he remembered alright... needless to say, the Alabastan was rather surprised that his friend seemed to care about his decreasing health (or maybe he was just imagining things once again, because that wasn't his friend's style to actually care about his well-being.).

"Yeah," Sphinx confirmed dejectedly. Then he swallowed, shaking himself out of it. "That's correct. But I won't waste this time any more than I already have; Lelouch will become my student and I'll watch him grow under my supervision. But when you say that you'll complete his training..."

" _I meant that I'll help him awaken completely_ ," the other man declared. " _I trust you to make him strong enough by the time I'll come to fetch him, Sphinx. I'll test his skills, and if he's able to_ _keep up with me, I'll take Lelouch as my student._ "There was a snort on the other end of the line, followed by a slight frown imitated by the Transponder Snail. " _Now that's a first... me, taking a boy as a student. I've never taught anyone._ "

Sphinx chuckled, amused. "There's a first for everything, my old friend."

Then he turned around, his eyes searching for Lelouch's form on his cot. The boy, still sound asleep, managed to give off a feeling of royalty even in his sleep despite his current position – arms spread wide, his mouth hanging half open while Sphinx could hear a faint snore coming from him. The older man stifled a small laugh, amused at the little man's antics. Even if the sight was amusing, there was still the fact that he could feel this _presence_ around Lelouch.

He was still seven. Seven, but his will seemed to be really strong, willing to become stronger.

Turning back to the Transponder Snail, Sphinx cleared his throat. "Well, I'll leave you to your duties, for I'm need of sleep to start training the little boy... ah, do you mind giving your captain my salutations? I certainly miss hearing from him since Roger died, except from the reports."

Finally, a slight smirk adorned the chapped lips of the Transponder Snail, signaling that the correspondant was showing his amusement. " _Must I understand that you somehow miss being one of us, Sphinx?_ "

The Alabastan snorted. "Where did you get that idea?"

" _Fine, be that way. Consider it done. Train Lelouch hard, and don't go easy on him just because he's still a kid. That's how one can surpass his master._ "

Then the phone call ended, putting the Transponder Snail back to sleep.

* * *

Lelouch will _always_ remember Sphinx's training sessions, since this was the first time he ever had to work his body this hard; after discovering how tame and weak he was, the older man had therefore made it his mission to train his new student. As he promised his old friend last night, Sphinx wasn't going easy on Lelouch.

"The _Snake & __Dance_ technique is an Alabastan martial art that requires strength, speed, grace, endurance and suppleness," he said to an exhausted-looking Lelouch, but with eyes still open and focused. The fire in his eyes was burning brightly. "So few practice it, due to its extreme difficulty, and many abandoned teaching or learning this style. It pushes your body past its limits but also gives you strength when you use it sagely. Have you ever observed how supple and fast snakes are? How they can bend their body? Well, the _Snake & Dance_ style will offer you the same abilities if you can endure them."

Push-ups, pull-ups and laps in the desert under a scorching sun or an impressive hail were also part of the training. Lelouch needed to build up his endurance to keep up with the insane pace Sphinx indulged him to follow; the desert itself was a challenge, since Sphinx had deemed it as the place of his training sessions. The heat was... were army men obligated to go through such length to become strong? That was crazy. Lelouch's body ached everywhere, he'd crawl to make it back to bed, he'd barely get any sleep. But somehow, the fallen Emperor felt the will to get up every damn morning, go through Sphinx's nerve-wrecking training and learn what the man wanted him to remember and use.

Lelouch briefly wondered if this was the kind of training Suzaku went through in his childhood, but he quickly shook those thoughts. Suzaku Kururugi was... gone. Gone from his life, gone forever. He shouldn't think about him and everyone else back in his world.

 _Besides_ , he thought bitterly as he wiped off some blood on his lip, _he must hate me more than his own family who disowned him after what he did to his father. The least I can do is forget about him. And Nunnally_...

So he indulged himself in his training to forget about his past memories, all the good and the bad ones – they just didn't belong here. With a cry of rage, Lelouch launched himself at Sphinx, performing a kick aimed at his ribs by adding speed and the little strength he acquired so far. However, his master caught it effortlessly with one hand wrapped around his foot and flipped him over. Seeing this, Lelouch contorsioned his body on 90° to send another kick with his other foot to his temple, doing a one-handed headstand and launching himself up to gain both high and speed. Again, it was avoided gracefully.

But Sphinx was smirking. "Nice, kiddo," he complimented in a low voice.

Days, weeks and months went by as Lelouch learnt to move like a true snake – good thing he remembered his dance lessons at the Aeries Villa with Nunnally and their dance teacher very well, because they had their use here. He needed to be strong, fast, endurant, graceful and flexible beyond limits to practice the _Snake & Dance_ perfectly like Sphinx must have in his younger days. It was as if he was both fighting _and_ dancing at the same time; his punches and kicks all depended on the way he moved, how fast he moved, how graceful he was, how supple he was, how strong he was and how endurant he was. Snakes' bites did hurt, but maybe not as much as their poison. And he still had so much more progress to make to surpass his master.

"Do you know which is the world's fastest snake, Lelouch?" Sphinx asked him one evening, as they were running at a rather fast pace toward Yuba. The Alabastan told his student that they'll travel around the kingdom to visit the whole island, so that he could see all of it. So they started by Rainbase, going through the oasis of Yuba.

Lelouch glanced at him, panting but keeping up. "I've heard it was a smiling snake labeled 'black mamba'," he answered steadily. "That snake isn't even black, but only the inside of its mouth is. Its speed is unbelievable. But what's the point?"

The Alabastan chuckled, giving Lelouch a slap behind his head. The boy practically snarled back at him. "What was that for?!" he demanded hotly, his eyes flashing.

"For not guessing what I truly meant by that," Sphinx retorted back, a mocking smile quirking his lips. "I thought you were a genius, Lelouch. Why don't you try guessing? You're very good at that... at least, when you're not trying to tear me apart with the techniques of the _Snake & Dance_."

All Lelouch did was growl, which greatly amused his master.

"If you ever become a pirate and if you wreak enough havoc, I'm ready to bet that the World Government will give you a nickname related to a snake," he declared, smirking. "That will depend on the way you use the martial arts I'm teaching you but, judging from your progress those past few months, I'd say you're on the way to become one fine, fast snake. You'll bark _and_ bite, because only pirates who can fight for what they hold dear can back up their words."

From their position, Yuba was finally in sight; night having fallen during their trip from Nanohana, the two of them will be happy to rest in real beds for the first time since they left the port town. Lelouch may not show it, but he was inwardly cheering. He made it! Those first eight months spent training, suffering from the dangers of the desert kingdom, were a huge first step into becoming someone else; since he wouldn't be Zero, Lelouch vi Britannia or even Lelouch Lamperouge anymore, he just had to become someone for himself. Not for Nunnally's sake – for himself. The Grand Line was so different from his world, even if he was sure he could find some similarities with the way Britannia used to rule and dictate under Charles zi Britannia. But he could bite, leave his mark, and live until he died once again.

What should Lelouch become? A pirate? A Marine? An agent of the World Government? He was still trying to choose whatever path would be most beneficial for him. If he had to guess, whether he became a Marine soldier or even an agent of the World Government, there was corruption everywhere – in the Marine's Corps and within the World Government itself. Lelouch was no fool. This would be easy to recognize. Try as they might, true justice could also be as fallacious; he was ready to bet that even pirates must have infiltrated the Marine's Corps and 'embraced' their plight, careful to conceal their true identity. After all, Marianne herself had revealed to be ready to dispose of him and Nunnally, should they become a hindrance to her goals. And Britannia...

He'll think about it.

* * *

" _Rokushiki_ , huh?" Lelouch repeated, tasting the name of the martial art he was now bound to be taught. He looked at the manual, reading some descriptions of the Six Powers of the _Rokushiki_. Each technique required strength, speed and grace, but... "Sphinx, is this some kind of sick joke?" he asked as he glanced at his master, who was returning from his bath and currently drying himself with a towel. The boy's eyes narrowed. "These techniques are so insane that only people born with inhuman tolerance and endurance can survive the training sessions, and I'm not that kind of person who can learn this."

"The _Snake & Dance_ technique is barely human, my dear student," Sphinx chirped, smirking as he dressed into his pants and shirt. "And _this_ ," he pointed to the manual in Lelouch's hands. "is a deadly technique that all branches of the Cipher Pol are allowed to use, even though not all of them are allowed to kill. That will certainly be a plus in your training."

Lelouch raised one brow, intrigued. "How so?"

"Well, if you ever become an agent of the World Government, you'd probably be able to skip the training sessions of the _Rokushiki_ , since I'll be teaching you everything about it. That is, if you're skilled enough to use all of the Six Powers perfectly. It will be a _real_ pain for you, Lelouch, so..." The older man sent his young student a toothy smirk, walking toward his bed. "...I hope you're bracing yourself. The _Snake & Dance_ technique is already tough, but for some reason, I've always thought the _Rokushiki_ technique to be the ultimate suicide."

Lelouch paled, gulping. Damn, was it _this_ demanding? But as he was about to ask Sphinx if this technique would ultimately result to a painful death, he stopped and frowned, thoughtful all of a sudden.

Sphinx seemed to know _a lot_ about the World Government and their way to train their agents; the training sessions all of them were bound to go under, how tough it was and how powerful they seemed to be. Lelouch looked down at the concise description of the _Shave_ technique and read it all, then another. Then another. It was so precise that it must have been written by an expert. How in the world did an 'Alabastan civilian' acquire such book about a deadly technique used by the Cipher Pol only?

Lelouch discreetly glanced at his master, silent. The likelihood of Sphinx having been a Cipher Pol agent was high and certainly not impossible, but he did tell him that even pirates could learn the _Rokushiki_ technique and use it for themselves. But acquiring the manual about _all_ of the Six Powers? There was something about this old man Lelouch couldn't figure out.

"Say, Sphinx," Lelouch asked carefully. "Were you an agent of the World Government before coming back to Alabasta?"

His question was met by a light snoring sound – the master fell asleep during his nocturnal thoughts. Lelouch scoffed, falling flat on his bed after turning the lights off. That was fine, he could still try tomorrow. He had about two or three days off before starting to learn the _Rokushiki_ technique, he'd use his time to read and learn even more about other nations, the World Government and navigation.

For now, he needed to rest before even thinking about knowing more about his master. Everyone had secrets that were better off buried with their owner in the tomb. Lelouch wasn't sure about Sphinx, but he seemed like the type of guy who would do anything to protect his darkest secrets; living like a hermit in a desert matched the description of those who desired nothing more than peace and quiet for the rest of their life.

But somehow, Sphinx was also one of those who wanted to see how far the next generation would shake the world. Somehow, Lelouch had a hunch about that fact.

* * *

The _Rokushiki_ technique itself turned out to be another challenge of another league of its own. If anything, it was invented to turn people's body into superhuman living weapons; Lelouch honestly couldn't remember how much in pain he could have been when Sphinx taught him the _Shigan_ and the _Rankyaku_ – he remembered yelling at his master, trying to bash some sense into him. All in vain, he sighed to himself as he dragged his aching body to a wall, shading himself.

"If the _Tekkai_ can give you a body of iron, then you'll need to feel it through your flesh and veins, as if you were wearing some kind of armor," Sphinx told him one hot afternoon, as he and Lelouch were working on the _Soru_. "Though using it at sheer will is difficult, I have faith you'll eventually figure it out. Now, go back to practice, little genius. Knowledge may be power, but raw power is also good for you."

 _That_ , Lelouch did know. So he just growled, got up, and went back to trying to tear his master's face with a cry of anger.

* * *

"Even though I'm certain you must have guessed it by now, you still ought to know that the World Government is the most corrupted organisation in the world," the master remarked to his student as he was evading and blocking his blows, fast or purposely slow to conceal one hidden attack. Those purple eyes were burning with passion as Lelouch kept attacking him, but Sphinx could tell he was listening to his words. "There are people whose existence was deemed forbidden or sinful by the Government, thus they send their assassins to bring them Enies Lobby, the judicial island, where they'll pass through the Gate of Justice. After this, they will never be seen again."

This new piece of information startled Lelouch... only for a few seconds. But those were precious seconds that resulted in him being disturbed; Sphinx used this distraction to land a sharp blow in Lelouch's stomach, sending him flying until he landed on his back, coughing and clutching his throbbing stomach.

"B-bastard!" the boy hissed, struggling to sit up. "D-dirty trick..." Using a distraction to get the advantage was a move only used by those who had no care for rules – pirates or cheaters, in other words. Lelouch glared at his master. "Really?"

Sphinx only raised an unimpressed brow at the petulant glare his pupil was sending him. "Really," he said bluntly. "Like hell pirates ever gonna obey rules when there aren't any. You expect them too? Wake up, Lelouch: I _was_ a pirate, pirates always play and fight dirty no matter what. You might want fair-play, but that's not how it works in piracy. If you want to make it as a pirate or a Marine soldier, you have to remember that dirty tricks and foul play may save your life at some point."

 _Foul play was Zero's speciality_ , Lelouch mentally mused as he got up, wiping some blood off the side of his mouth. He took three big breaths, closing his eyes and clearing his mind... a clear mind with no more thoughts...

" _With a clear mind, you could take on your opponents and even bring them down. When everything is clear, you can see which path is the safest and make your gateaway without any trouble. That's the mind of an excellent tactician, Lelouch. And a king's. If the king doesn't lead, his subjects won't follow. Will you be an excellent tactician and a king, little brother?"_

If there was anything Lelouch owed Schneizel, it was his genius at tactics. After all, he _did think_ like a demon.

* * *

Lelouch looked back at his master's house with some nostalgia, a faraway look in his purple eyes. If he hadn't asked Sphinx, he wouldn't have believed that three years passed since he arrived in Alabasta after dying. Had so much time passed _this_ quickly? Lelouch could hardly believe it; Alabasta being an arid island, there wasn't any winter or spring – when he had learnt that islands had their own climate and never went through all four seasons once a year, he'd been shocked and fascinated. He'd have to study navigation a little more to know what to expect when he'll come across different islands during his journey into the Grand Line. From what he'd gathered in the books, everything could happen and especially the most unbelievable things.

And here he was, training harder than he ever had back when he was still Lelouch Lamperouge or Lelouch vi Britannia, three years later. He was ten (he reluctantly celebrated his birthday because Sphinx and some of his friends wanted to spoil the 'suffering brat who was crazy to be taught by such maniac'. _Period_.) and waiting for the man Sphinx had called three years ago on the Transponder Snail. It took him seconds to realize what was going on, right now and after.

Lelouch would leave the kingdom of Alabasta. Soon.

 _Funny how time flies_ , he mused mentally, looking back toward Nanohana. Back in Area Eleven, he hadn't really paid attention to the flow of time due to his adaptation into another conquered country by Britannia – giving up on his status was one thing, but adapting himself to another lifestyle had proved to be quite the challenge. Lelouch and Nunnally had been quite happy, now that he reflected on his previous life; away from royalty, away from the lion's den and the snakes. His precious little sister would have been a target, anyway. Starting anew in the annexed Japan with new friends at Ashford Academy had actually made him happy, so happy that he hadn't seen the years pass by. Shirley, Milly, Rivalz – God, he _missed_ Rivalz! – and Nina... they had become his friends, one of his precious treasures. And C.C appeared in his life, changing everything (the Geass, the power to fight Britannia and bring the entire empire down... until his death.).

Creating an ideal world was the best visionary goal that would likely never happen in a lifetime, but it was worth trying for someone you love dearly. It had been worth trying for Nunnally.

Lelouch's eyes squinted, noticing someone walking confidently toward him under the hard sun. He could make out a Marine's uniform – different from a regular Marine soldier's – with a long coat, hanging on the man's shoulders. He had black hair reaching his ears and looking like some kind of semi-afro-bowl-cut, sported black sunglasses, a finely cut beard... and there was spaghetti leftovers stuck on his left cheek (which almost prompted Lelouch to scowl in disgust. Couldn't he feel the stickiness of that spaguetti?).

But otherwise, there was a powerful aura emanating from that man. Lelouch could practically taste it as he nervously watched him approach, half-tempted to shout for Sphinx. But he bravely held it together, flexing his fingers. When the mysterious man stopped in front of him, about two feet away, they stared at each other for a few seconds. Lelouch couldn't see his eyes, but he knew they were assessing him, judging him. So he refused to look away or down.

That seemed to pay off, since a slight smirk appeared on the man's face. "Sphinx was right," he said as he walked closer to crouch down in front of Lelouch. "There _is_ something about you. Most children don't develop such a strong presence such as yours at that age. What's your name, kid?"

 _This is it_. Lelouch took a breath, released it, and answered. "Lelouch. Canterbury Lelouch," he said, staring right into the man's eyes.

The older man's smirk never disappeared. "Royal indeed, as I thought. Well, hello Lelouch. You can call me Vergo-san."


	2. You Are Blacklisted

**Author's Note 1:** … all these reviews, adds to favorites and followers in just one chapter? Wowzer. Thank you all! I never expected _Lelouch's Romance Dawn_ to actually work and to be liked... well, I hope I won't disappoint you guys with Lelouch's adventures in the Grand Line.

 **Author's Note 2:** Hem. Someone in his review talked about pairings with Lelouch (with Robin or Vivi). Well, the thing is... I haven't planned any pairing for Lelouch right now – and he won't be joining the Strawhats either. Sorry OBSERVER01, but that won't happen in _Lelouch's Romance Dawn_. And if I made Lelouch meet Vergo, then think logically: where is he right now? Why would he join the Strawhats if he doesn't have a dream to pursue?

* * *

 **Chapter Two:** You Are Blacklisted

* * *

 _He who whispers in your ears_

 _is the greatest and sweetest temptation of the world,_

 _but can also become its doom_

 _shall you cross him._

* * *

 _Thirteen years later, in the Grand Line..._

"I still don't understand why we're in that goddamn island, Lelouch," Saber, the hybrid half-monkey and half-man, grumbled as he watched with disgust several nobles busy themselves with useless conversations. "We could have landed somewhere else – ah, no. Actually, we _do_ have to pass by Sabaody Archipelago to reach other islands in the first half of the Grand Line, but what I don't get is why we have to stay here for _another_ two damn hours."

His big, green eyes found his partner who was busy reading a large notebook from an equally large bookshelf. Saber glared at his back, knowing that the bastard had gotten used to him whining about anything (and the hybrid knew how quick his folks used to get angered due to his ceaseless bubbly self.) and would brush him off easily. Canterbury Lelouch, now twenty-three – he still couldn't believe he was twenty-three! He died when he had just reached eighteen – and a damn good navigator, hid his amused smirk as he turned the page of the book he was reading. Without so much as giving the marsupial an answer, which quickly angered him.

Saber stomped the ground, snarling and tail standing upright behind him. "Bastard, I know you heard me!" he exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Lelouch.

"I did," the navigator simply responded. "But I just refused to talk because I'd like to focus on my task, and it's proving to be hard with a screaming marsupial."

The last insult wasn't serious, but Lelouch knew his friend would be going for the kill. When he sensed Saber's intent, his instincts kicked in and his Haki made his body move; as fluid and elusive as a snake, the navigator evaded the first bullet by side-stepping to the right, to the left, crouched down, then made a headstand while carrying the book before leaping high. Saber cursed, raising his guns to rain down bullets on Lelouch; he caught the smirk on his black-haired friend before he suddenly disappeared, using the _Soru_ to vanish from sight.

Quarin Saber looked behind him, on his left and right with narrowed eyes, before something in his guts told him to look _up_. And look up he did, but not in time: Lelouch landed gracefully upon him, his feet firmly stepping onto the hybrid's shoulders, and leaned in by making a perfect right-angled. Saber staggered a little bit, caught off guard, and groaned in annoyance as he struggled with the extra weight before straightening himself. He looked up, scowled at the smirking face his friend was making, before pointing his gun at him.

"Look, Vergo informed me that a little group of pirate hunters bagged something awfully precious to him," Lelouch said casually, despite being held at gunpoint. "I'm quite sure he could have recovered it all by himself, but it seems he's got work to do back at G-5 with his units. Though I'm a bit suspicious since he rarely lets us go on our own, I'm going to ensure we'll complete this errand."

"Then why are we still in that library?" Saber questioned, raising a brow. "And why didn't he come here to retrieve his 'treasure' himself? That would have saved us the trip to that damn island!"

This time, Lelouch smiled genuinely. His walleyed eyes – a gold so bright and vibrant that it shone like the sun for the left one and a purple so light it had the same colour as violets – softened considerably.

"Despite being a corrupted island with nobles and those disgusting Celestial Dragons, they have decent navigation books in their libraries," he answered, standing up and balancing himself perfectly. Saber's gun followed his movement, never missing his face. "I'm almost done, bear with me. Then we'll be off this grove and go to Aquila's hideout to take him out once and for all." Lelouch was still smiling down at him. "Don't worry, we'll be off this god-forsaken island in no time."

This was the code for _'I've got you'_ , and Saber knew that Lelouch had sensed his uneasiness from the beginning, ever since they landed. He retracted his gun, his features relaxing. He even released a breath he hadn't know he'd been holding all this time, as if an impressive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His friend nodded gratefully before getting off of him, landing lightlly on the dusty floor.

"Were you really going to draw a hole into my face, Saber?" Lelouch inquired as he flipped his hair, amused.

The white-haired hybrid snorted, putting his guns away. "You wish. And what would become of me? Who would put up with me?"

"You'd still have Vergo?" Lelouch offered, sarcastically hopeful.

The hybrid snarled at him, his fangs gleaming under the sunlight, which prompted the navigator to stifle a chuckle. Then he went back to reading, all traces of amusement gone. After coiling his long tail around his waist, Saber settled down on a chair, still looking at him with emotionless eyes. He didn't know how and why he'd come to accept Canterbury Lelouch as his friend, but all he knew was that he'd follow him. Till he died. _To think it all started_ _years ago_ _with a matter of philosophy_ , Saber thought with a small frown. But still, the fact that he always ensured his well-being before his own was nice.

As for Sabaody Archipelago, Saber had been told to avoid it at any cost; as a native of Zaran Island, he belonged to a rare species of hybrids – and since Fishmen and mermaids were categorized as hybrids as well, there was a chance that the half-marsupial would be branded as a prize at the human auction in Sabaody Archipelago. The thought of being sold off to a noble or a Celestial Dragon would sometimes give him the creeps, so being on the accursed island while knowing the damn place was crawling with bounty hunters ready to kidnap him put him on edge. Even humans weren't spared from that atrocious fate. _Nobles and their goddamn mindset_ , he mentally spat with a snarl. Saber knew how to fight and wouldn't hesitate to cause a bloodbath if needed, even though it would eventually cause him problems with the locals and the Marines. He'd die before he could get caught.

His green eyes caught movement on his right and he turned, his hand going for his gun. The sight of a young girl hiding behind a bookshelf, her gaze looking over the two men in wonder, made Saber frown in annoyance. When she caught his eyes, she gasped and instantly blushed, then fled. Even with those creepy walleyed eyes and in that god-forsaken island, Canterbury Lelouch still managed to attract women and girls. At the very least, he didn't take advantage of it like the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock.

"Lelouch," Saber spoke up, crossing his arms. "There's something that hasn't left my mind ever since you said you didn't have a dream and I want to understand."

"Oh? I'm all ears," his friend encouraged, eyes still glued to the book.

Saber turned back toward him, still frowning. "People embrace their dreams and do everything to realize them. And if they die trying, they tend to die with a smile. I don't have a dream myself, just like you, yet something else seems to bind us together; I'm not looking for One Piece, I'm not interested in the race and I'm not even into the twisted idea that is justice to both the World Government and the Marines." He looked up at Lelouch who, at this point, had stopped reading to stare at Saber. "You did _something_ to me back then that made me follow you, Lelouch. I still don't know if it's part of your charisma or that... 'presence' you display sometimes, but it makes me want to walk by your side, so I want to know: if you had a dream, or even an ideal you'd want to realize, what would it be? If I had one different from yours, would you still want me by your side?"

There was this bewildered look in those eyes that Saber wasn't used to seeing, since this was the first time he ever asked Lelouch this question. He stood there, speechless and not knowing what to answer because he knew beforehand that Saber wouldn't be satisfied. Eleven years ago, the hybrid didn't know that crossing paths with this boy with walleyed eyes would change his view on his own life; those walleyed eyes could see people's most secret fears and nightmares and despite Lelouch being young, they seemed more mature than his age. Whatever he had experienced before their first meeting, he had _lived_.

Slamming the book shut, the navigator put it back in place with caution. There was a strange expression on his face as his fingers lingered on the book cover. "...I have no idea whatsoever," he said truthfully. He sensed Saber's curiosity, so he continued. "There's still something I haven't told anybody, not even Vergo-san, and that will wait until I've garnered enough trust in my entourage. And yes, including _you_ , Saber. Having a dream is for someone who is expecting life or fate to give him the chance to realize and live it, after breaking the restraints, and that was something I was once given."

"Once?" Saber repeated.

"Let's just say that I _tried_ to do something. I tried my hardest, using every means to succeed." He frowned as he turned back to face his friend, his walleyed eyes burning and swirling with so many emotions at the same time that the hybrid couldn't follow. "And you know what, Saber? I _failed_. I failed when I thought that my ambition and my determination to change and create something better for a certain person I loved dearly would never be broken by the world, I failed when I understood that ideals and realities would likely never be merged together even if I were to succeed. There would _always_ be something or someone to disrupt it – take the kingdom of Dressrosa for example: there was peace and joy under the regency of King Riku Doldo III, and Doflamingo arrived one day. He disrupted everything, using both his demonic intelligence and powers to get where he is. The people of Dressrosa now _hate_ the Riku bloodline for something they thought he'd done in the past. Doflamingo was given the power to realize his plan, and those who aren't deceived by his words and charisma are well aware that his true goal lies somewhere else."

A lie within the truth. Lelouch and Saber may have known each other for eleven years, he still wasn't going to tell him the truth about his origins. One day maybe, but not now. It was just too soon. During his years of training under Vergo's supervision, there was a time he had come to meet the Warlord and his 'family' when his master was due to leave for a mission – finding out that Vergo was a pirate undercover in the Marine corps didn't really surprise Lelouch, since he had his doubts about him. Therefore, he had stayed with them several times. Lelouch would never forget his first meeting with the 'Heavenly Demon', since he had accidentally triggered something when he had looked at him. His first impression of Donquixote Doflamingo was that he was someone awfully dangerous – having been put under so much stress and pressure during nerve-wrecking training sessions under both Sphinx and Vergo's supervision, Lelouch's Haki had flared when the blond man had smirked at him.

 _'A person such as Donquixote Doflamingo is someone whose thirst will never be quenched. He is just like Schneizel – he thinks like a demon.'_

Lelouch Lamperouge was given the power of the Kings and used it to fight Britannia – to fight what made his former country so detestable and everything it did to a world where he knew he and Nunnally couldn't live. So he needed to destroy the Holy Britannian Empire by beheading the demon in charge of the world domination they displayed. As he was dying as the Demon Emperor, he didn't know if he _did_ succeed in creating the idealistic world he wanted for his precious sister and would never know. Somehow, the Geass overtook his own mind and reason, blinding Lelouch Lamperouge and driving him half-insane; his dream of destroying Britannia became something he couldn't even recognize as a goal, and he had lost himself into his rebellion against the empire.

So the very idea of having a dream, if he were given the power to realize it, scared him. Hence why he didn't have one for now. He had destroyed a world to recreate a new one, after all; having his friends and his sister chained during the Zero Requiem, exposed to the world right before his death at the hands of Suzaku, he truly had become a tyrant who had been both hated by those who only reacted to the fear he had spread and worshipped by those who understood his actions. Should he search for a dream in this world? The Grand Line was crazy as hell, but then again, Canterbury Lelouch himself wasn't totally sane anymore. _I sacrificed half, maybe even more, of my sanity to embrace this power_ , he mentally thought as he walked toward the exit of the library, Saber right behind him.

Lelouch looked up at the sky, bright and so blue, while closing his left eye. "And even if you did have a dream for yourself, I wouldn't mind," he continued as he searched the pockets of his white overalls for his eyepatch. He put over his left eye, shielding the strange colour. "I've got nothing dear to me to protect anymore, except my pride and dignity. All I had is lost to me because I abused of the power I was given...and it consumed me to the point I was driven mad and couldn't even realize that I had strayed from my true goal. And if I ever end up having a dream to fulfill, I'll still have to find it since I have no idea. You still don't have a dream, but it could happen to you. You haven't been consumed by power. _Yet_. So I have complete faith that you won't stray from your own dream."

"In the end, was it worth trying at the very least?" Saber asked softly.

The vision of a smiling Nunnally, with her eyes closed, flashed into Lelouch's mind. This was enough to make him smile as well and he nodded.

"Yes. Yes, it _was_."

The hybrid nodded solemnly. "Then you don't have any regrets."

Since bounty hunters roamed Sabaody Archipelago like cockroaches, the two friends avoided the main streets; they used dark alleys until they could leave the grove they were on to go to another. Even though they were Vice-Admiral Vergo's protegés, Lelouch still wanted to remain unseen by the few Marine soldiers around here for Saber's sake – it really was annoying when third-class Marine soldiers happened to recognize them and having to tell them that they had some business on Sabaody Archipelago with bounty hunters would be a pain in the ass, especially because Lelouch and Saber were sent by Vergo himself.

It took them about ten minutes to find the hideout they were looking for: located on Grove 17, it was a small, simple wooden building with no real indication that it was bounty hunter's hideout, but Lelouch's Observation Haki could sense the presence of many people inside – about twenty-three. Crouching down on the grass, he concentrated on the noises he could perceive inside. One by one, he isolated them – the clinking of glasses being put down, the rustle of paper or even the splashing of water – until he could only hear their voices. He closed his visible eye, fully concentrating on their voices.

" _... sure he didn't send any troops to recover what we've stolen from him? Because that Vergo guy doesn't seem to joke around. And I heard that he has a protégé who's rumoured to be a beast in battle."_

" _What the hell are you talking about now? I've never heard of any protegé under Vice-Admiral Vergo's care, you sure you've got good intel?"_

" _Then that's your intel that's crap, buddy! I can assure you that Vice-Admiral Vergo even has_ two _protegés, but the most dangerous one of the two is named Canterbury Lelouch. Rumours say that even if he doesn't kill his opponents in battles, they still end up in a terrible, mortifying state."_

" _Yeah? Such as? As long as he's not as strong as Vergo..."_

" _I'm talking about the emotional state here, not the physical state. Though he's crazy strong, there's more to the story than you actually think: two months ago, there was one naval battle in the Grand Line during which some units from G-5 were involved with pirates, and that Lelouch guy was there. He...he did something creepy back there, OK? Half of the pirates he fought ended up acting weird, as if they were seeing crazy things, and they wouldn't stop screaming bloody murder. One even shot himself, as if death was the only solution to stop whatever the hell he was seeing. The guy who witnessed that – and survived – said he's never been this afraid in his whole life."_

Lelouch opened his right eye, standing up. He had heard enough to know that they were in the right place – listening to what he did to those pirates months ago was unnecessary, but if it was needed to make out an idea of what he could do to those thieves, the navigator would let it slide. As for letting them live and talk...

He glanced at Saber, putting his black gloves on. "Ready?" he asked his friend.

His unearthly green eyes were burning with barely concealed excitement. And he already had his kodachi out.

"Whenever you are, Lelouch," was the answer.

After all, they did learn to work together as a team over the years. If not, they would have kept facing Vergo's rough punishment for an entire week. Period.

* * *

Theft wasn't Sicario's style – he very much preferred catching prizes to offer them at the auction and get his money to waste it on food and booze. The lifestyle of a bounty hunter was great when there was an interesting prey to catch, and Sicario had abandoned everything else to launch himself into the business. Money was power, power was influence. But there hadn't been any good catch these days in Sabaody Archipelago, so it had been too quiet for his taste. The rookie pirates who landed here were only interested in getting ready for the New World, thinking they had seen and experienced everything Paradise had to offer. Fools would always be fools, anyway. And this was one of the major reasons so many had failed and died in the New World, because only the strongest could survive; the Four Emperors ruled the second half of the Grand Line with an iron fist and would crush those who were foolish enough to challenge them.

Sicario wasn't interested in piracy, so the One Piece was out. But he was open for every opportunity if it benefit him and his underlings. And the last one, albeit strange and dangerous since it meant stealing from a powerful Vice-Admiral and looking forward to retaliation, payed off. He just needed to wait for his nark to pay him for the informations he wanted.

Sitting alone in his office, he looked at the files that were carefully placed on his desk. He could read the word 'Confidential' on the cover, which intrigued him; both the Marine corps and the World Government had dark secrets to hide from people – secrets that could throw the balance of the whole world, such as the existence of the One Piece (even though he wasn't interested in the race, Sicario was still curious to know if the legendary treasure of the late King of the Pirates was real or just a legend he made up seconds before his death.). The bounty hunter frowned and crossed his arms, thoughtful. He certainly wasn't going to betray the deal he'd made with his nark and open the files to read them, but he had to admit; he was just that damn curious. Why would that person need confidential documents from the Marines, even though that could lead that certain person to an impending death if she were found out? The risk was too great.

Suffice it to say, it had to be worth the danger of being found out by such a deadly Vice-Admiral. Sicario hoped so, because he would be damned if it weren't the case.

The sound of a loud gunshot suddenly made him jump in his chair, and he shot up from his seat so fast that he almost tripped on his feet on the way to the door. Sicario ripped it open, barely avoiding being impaled by a sword flung his way, and stared at the scene in front of him with wide eyes.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed as he took in the two figures that were spreading chaos in his lair.

A lot of his men were already down, either out cold or dead, and Sicario knew it was only a matter of time – seconds! – before the last of his companions was bested. But what drew his attention was the two men who were literally slaughtering his minions, especially the one with the eyepatch because the bounty hunter recognized him quickly; while he was busy strangling another bounty hunter twice his size with his legs wrapped around his neck and imprisoning another one within his embrace – all the while _bending his body_ to an impossibly sickening angle because the second man he was throttling was kneeling on the ground –, Sicario could make out the purple right eye, the black hair, the eyepatch and the mad grin on his lips.

Canterbury Lelouch. 'Black Mamba' Lelouch. He was here. _He knew_.

Now Sicario knew he was going to die. And unfortunately for him, both Lelouch and Saber had heard his exclamation; their gazes flashed at him for a second, one looked at him with contempt, the other looked at him with madness swirling in his eye. The bounty hunter felt his heart drop and sink to the bottom of his stomach as he finally came to realize that he'd been wrong.

"We've been looking for you, 'Lone Wolf' Sicario," Canterbury Lelouch declared. "You've got something that doesn't belong to you, and we need to take it back before our boss comes on Sabaody to retrieve it himself. And trust me on this one: he won't be as merciful." Right after saying this, he unwrapped his legs around the neck of the bounty hunter he'd been strangling – who had passed out seconds ago, foaming at the mouth and eyes rolled to the back of their sockets – to wrap them tightly round his waist, then proceeded to lift him until he slammed his head against the second victim he'd also been throttling.

Sicario winced at the loud thud when his two men both slumped to the ground, defeated. All the others were also down, beaten to a pulp by a – was that a hybrid right here, half-man, half-monkey? Damn, it was his first time seeing one in Sabaody Archipelago! He must be worth millions if he were to sell him.

Unfortunately, Sicario had no time to think of selling prizes to the auction right now; he must think of how he'd survive _this_. He had to swallow three times – three times during which he avoided blood splattering – before answering, glaring even though he was scared shitless (and probably pissing his pants). "Go to hell, you vile demon!" Then he slammed the door shut, locking himself into his own office.

Lelouch chuckled at the insult, doing a headstand on the back of one of his defeated opponents to jump with a somersault. Bending his body while in the air so his legs could catch the chandelier on the ceiling, he suspended himself there upside down, very much looking like a monkey right now.

"I've heard worse," he said, still chuckling. "That has to be the nicest insult I've ever heard in a long time. So," he added, looking down at his half-marsupial friend. "shall we go talk to the head of this organization now that we've cleared the living-room?"

Saber nodded, his eyes glaring. "He locked his door," the marksman hissed in annoyance, staring at the door with contempt. "What, does he have a secret exit in case of 'emergency attacks' or something?"

Lelouch raised a brow as he eyed the sealed door, wondering why this bounty hunter would go to such lengths to keep stolen files from the Marines. Stealing from a Vice-Admiral was already bad enough for your reputation (depending on the way you'd see it), but keeping confidential files for himself was madness. Unless...

 _There's something else_ , Lelouch thought as he readied himself: he let go of the chandelier, brought one leg up before releasing a powerful _Rankyaku_ to cut down half of the building. The attack, forming an aerial blade, went through the wooden construction like butter, making it creak and tremble almost immediately. Flipping over so he could land on the floor on his feet, Lelouch quickly grabbed Saber and used the _Soru_ to disappear.

They reappeared outside the crumbling house, unscathed. Amid the loud noises it was making, they could hear Sicario's crude curses, which made the marsupial smirk in amusement.

"Well, what do you know," he mused, cracking his neck. "The Six Powers of the _Rokushiki_ do come in handy when you need them in a situation such as this one. Even though you're the only one between us two to have learnt them as a child, I'm kind of jealous of your mastery of such deadly technique."

Lelouch, though grateful of the compliment, patted his friend's shoulder in mock sympathy. "If anything, you would have lost your mind over the training sessions," he revealed, sighing. It really was a damn hassle with Sphinx. Suicidal even. "Trust me on this one, you wouldn't have liked it. All right, let's get this over with." Then he disappeared once again, undoubtedly going after Sicario.

Saber frowned slightly, confused. _Was it that bad, Lelouch?_ He had once told him that the training sessions demanded endurance and determination beyond madness, so maybe the _Rokushiki_ technique was something even worse than the martial arts of his own people. Shrugging, he went after his friend, becoming a blur that only ruffled the grass beneath his feet.

Together, they dug up the bounty hunter who was cradling the confidential files he'd stolen from Vergo and hauled him away from the debris of what was his former hideout. He had several cuts all over his face, but otherwise looked pretty fine. However, he still had the energy to try an attempt to escape as he started kicking. Lelouch scowled, evading a kick pretty easily.

"Calm down," he admonished as they threw him against a tree, making the bounty hunter grunt in pain. The navigator then leapt on his legs to prevent them from going wild again, prompting Sicario to gasp. Lelouch crossed his arms and looked down at his prey, imperious. "Though all we want is getting away from that god-forsaken island as soon as possible, we've got questions that need answers. I'm not going to lie to you – there's no way we can let you go after what you've done, so I suggest that you talk _now_ ," he emphasized the threat on the last word, his visible purple eye glinting dangerously.

Sicario froze, his heart missing a heartbeat and his face slowly contorted in sheer terror as his eyes widened in painful realization. _What is that?_ Men were constantly face-to-face with fear every day of their life because it was a powerful emotion that could lead them to do both wonders and mad things (such as deciding to betray the World Government.), but there was something off about Canterbury Lelouch that made him want to run off screaming, eyes wide in fear; it wasn't just the smirk on his face, but the very presence he was displaying right now. It made Sicario want to cry, to scream, to run off, to claw his eyes out – to kill himself because in the back of his head he was aware that, if he caved in to whatever he'd see, he'd end up committing suicide by slashing his throat and clawing his eyes out.

This purple eye, the emotions swirling into it... it gave Sicario the creeps.

Seeing that their target seemed too entranced to agree, Saber snorted before plunging his blade into Sicario's left leg, all the while wrapping his long tail tightly around his neck to muffle the scream that threatened to slip past his lips. All that came out was a gurgled sound, which made Lelouch narrow his eye at the confidential files that escape the bounty hunter's hands. He bent down to pick them, his mind whirling with thousands of questions.

"There's something I don't understand, so you're going to help me," he declared as he slowly came to crouch down before Sicario, still firmly stepping on his legs and balancing himself perfectly. He held up the documents in front of the bounty hunter's face. "Anyone who is mad enough to steal from a Marine officer, let alone a Vice-Admiral, couldn't have decided to do this on his own. It's called being extremely suicidal, so there has to be more to the story; bounty hunters aren't into theft, so there must be someone else behind this." Lelouch began to stand up, applying pressure on Sicario's injured leg, making him grunt. "Don't strangle him, Saber. We want him to talk, don't we?"

Since the man was already turning a worrying shade of blue, the marksman slightly loosened his hold on his neck and Sicario took the opportunity to take huge gulps of air, greedily filling his lungs. Lelouch counted till ten, just the time he needed to recover, then spoke once again.

"I really don't know what you expected, but you must have been promised a good load of money if you were to succeed – which means, in other terms, that you must have contacted your employer before we got to you. Now the question is, who on earth would be this desperate to hire a third-rate bounty hunter, and one of the most despicable from Sabaody Archipelago, to steal confidential documents from the Marines? I don't get it."

Sicario had to breathe several times before he could formulate a proper sentence. "You... you don't even know why I did that. A-and you have no fucking idea who you're messing with, Black Mamba," he wheezed, lifting his head so he could look up at Lelouch. The fear was visible in his eyes, but he still seemed courageous enough to talk. Lelouch leaned in, listening attentively. "My contact is someone you don't want to piss off but since he's greatly interested in you, you won't even have to kill me. I'm just some sort of messenger. He's heard about you since you started making a name in the Marines corps."

The navigator's smile slowly grew, becoming sinister, whereas Saber frowned in confusion. "Oh, so you've played job applicant for me? How peculiar. You do know that we're not even official Marine soldiers, right?"

"Lelouch, is your file in those documents?" Saber asked suddenly, staring at the stack of papers his friend was holding. "Take a look at those files, will you? I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this."

Saber wasn't usually one to worry about things, mainly because Lelouch's confidence was slowly rubbing off on him but if he were to get worried (like right now), Lelouch would take him seriously. And the marsupial had been right most of the times when the two friends were supposed to fall for a trap set up by pirates, which had prompted the genius navigator to never underestimate Saber's instincts – because he could trust them to prevent them from being played. And even if it was rare for Lelouch to fall for traps, he thanked his friend's instincts.

Humming his agreement, he opened the file to read whatever was in it. And the first thing he saw was...

"...what the _hell_?" was all he could utter as his eye settled on his picture, which prompted Saber to peek.

And there was something else: there was his name, his date of birth, the name of his superior – Vergo –, his skills (and by his skills, he meant _all_ of them that had been made public knowledge to the G-5: from his navigation skills to his charisma being explained with details, that always worked on both men and women, his mastery of the _Rokushiki_ and Haki.) and his relationships (so his close friend Saber could also being concerned by whatever was going on.). Lelouch had told Vergo all he needed to know about him ever since he had made him his protégé – minus the fact that he was reborn in the Grand Line and originally from another world. So he knew all of his skills and everything he learnt under his supervision.

 _This can't be good_ , he mentally thought as he turned another page to read lines that described him the best way possible; the words 'cunning', 'powerful', 'mastermind', 'master speaker' and 'charismatic' made him cringe, but Lelouch knew they described him perfectly. Vergo having been taking care of him for years, he supposed the powerful 'Marine Vice-Admiral' knew him the most and had learnt a lot about what made Canterbury Lelouch. Gritting his teeth in irritation, he turned another page while Saber turned his attention back to Sicario, threatening him with his kodachi right under his exposed throat.

"You still haven't answered the question: who hired you?" he demanded calmly, applying pressure to the flesh and eventually drawing blood. His green eyes were burning a hole in the bounty hunter's skull – a sign that he had sensed his friend's uneasiness.

Lelouch thought that having a resume about him in a bounty hunter's hands was annoying enough, but something else, more interesting and definitely disturbing, made his blood boil. His hands slowly flexed on the papers, unnoticed by the other two who were talking.

Sicario was pale as he answered the marsupial. "I don't know, I swear!" he exclaimed frantically. "He never told me a name and I never asked as long as we both came to an agreement. I bring him the files about you to his messenger once he arrived here and he –" He suddenly shut up, realizing his mistake.

"Somebody was supposed to meet you? Convenient. When is the meeting scheduled?"

"Saber, forget him. We have a problem," Lelouch announced smoothly. Too smoothly according to Saber.

But the marksman wasn't quite finished with the bounty hunter; hissing in annoyance, he opted for knocking him out by striking a pressure point on the back of his neck. Sicario slumped to the ground, out cold for some time, and Saber stood up to look at what Lelouch had been reading, but stopped when he saw his friend's furious expression. No, 'furious' didn't even reach what he was seeing on his face – 'livid' was close enough. So whatever he's just read must be pretty bad.

The green eyes searched for Lelouch's visible violet one. "Talk to me," he said.

There was a moment of silence during which Saber waited patiently for his friend to speak. And when he did, he didn't know it was going to be this bad. "I knew, from the few times it happened when I would look at someone in the eyes, that my Devil Fruit was bad news. All Devil Fruits are categorized and some are ten thousand times more dangerous and special than most of them accounted for, especially when they cause great damages. But I didn't know _how bad_ mine truly is when Vergo gave it to me." He slowly reached for his eyepatch, gritting his teeth, then brutally ripped it to reveal his left golden eye, burning with so much intensity.

"That must be why someone is intent on learning more about me. What I don't understand is the fact that Vergo didn't even bother telling me this."

"What? What didn't he tell you?"

As an answer, Lelouch shoved him a certain file in his face.

"Did you know that my Devil Fruit is on a blacklist of the most dangerous Devil Fruits that are deemed forbidden? Because I had my suspicions, but I didn't know _anything_ about a damn blacklist."

Saber blanched, speechless.

* * *

Try as he might, Vergo knew it would only be a matter of time before his protégé found out about his Devil Fruit and the consequences it would bring because of its rarety – in fact, the Vice-Admiral couldn't believe there was an actual Devil Fruit that could do such things. It wasn't near Edward Newgate 'Whitebeard''s Tremor Tremor Fruit, which could destroy the entire world if he were to use it, but in another league of its own since it worked on the mind. And Vergo thought that Lelouch was the only one who could wield it. _No_ , the pirate mentally thought as he shook his head. _That's incorrect_.

He knew that Canterbury Lelouch was the only one who could wield that dreadful Devil Fruit.

To think that there was a blacklist for Devil Fruits... the World Government must have encountered the previous owner of Lelouch's and faced great problems with him. Or her. Anyone who didn't know how to really deal with fear would be consumed by its power, so the Five Elders in Mariejois must have used their influence to get to the wielder of the Terror Terror Fruit and murder him before he could endanger the balance of the world – getting that person under control would be a nasty piece of work since she's the embodiement of fear itself. Vergo frowned slightly as he laced his fingers together, thoughtful.

He might have cursed Lelouch by giving him this Devil Fruit (after stealing it right under the Government's nose.) and since they had noticed the disappearance of the Terror Terror Fruit and were heavily looking for its wielder, things would become quite hectic for Lelouch; from what he's read about the Devil Fruit, not only this one worked on everyone's mind, it could also dig up anyone's most secret fears and nightmares, therefore replay them. Such power must also come with heavy consequences, but it hadn't been recorded. And Vergo was sure there were many other things to realize with it. If anything, the wielder must have a mind that has already been tainted by madness to bear and master the Terror Terror Fruit. Lelouch may have been young when he ate – no, when Vergo took advantage of his sleep to make him swallow the bitter fruit – the dreadful Devil Fruit, but he had said some words that only someone who could think ahead of the curve would say.

" _I heard a saying once," Lelouch said one day after a particularly rough training session. "Someone, who died a very long time ago, said that 'No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.'. In other words, you don't have to be sane to think like a genius. So I must be insane."_

Somehow, this made sense to Vergo. Doffy was a great mastermind when it came to business and he hadn't earned his nickname 'Heavenly Demon' just because he was a charismatic king, but because he just knew how to play his own game around those he worked for; using his status as a Warlord to conceal his involvement in the underworld was clever since he had something to protect (Crocodile was doing the same thing in Alabasta.), so they wouldn't suspect a damn thing. Unless there was someone to disrupt everything he's worked for all these years. The Vice-Admiral may not have known his protégé as much as Donquixote Doflamingo, but he knew for sure that he was highly intelligent and could rival with his old friend if he wanted to. Plus, there was something in Lelouch's eyes and words that made him think that the boy sounded experienced in the matter.

" _Purupurupuru_... _purupurupuru_..." Vergo turned toward his left, looking at the personalized Transponder Snail that matched Lelouch's face. He reached it to pick up, knowing who was calling. " _Purupurupuru_... Ga-Chank!"

Vergo didn't even flinch as he listened to Lelouch's angry voice, the Transponder Snail matching his expression. " _You knew about my Devil Fruit, didn't you?!_ "

But he did hesitate for a few seconds before answering. "Yes. Yes, I knew about the Terror Terror Fruit and the fact that eating it would make you blacklisted."

There was an angry snort on Lelouch's part, to which Vergo didn't really react as the navigator spoke once again. " _Those documents you sent me and Saber retrieve had my file and informations about my skills and everything I can do is written here. And what's more, the bounty hunter who stole them was waiting for someone to pick them up, so it looks like we'll have to delay our return for a few days._ " Lelouch took his time to digest what he's learnt in so little time, scowling and his eyes burning like the sun; the fact that he was being hunted by the World Government for eating a forbidden Devil Fruit, the fact that he would have to expect some visits from said World Government if they caught up to him – everything was going to be extremely hectic from now on. " _Vergo-san, why didn't you tell me sooner? Wait, I have a better question: why did you make me eat it?_ "

"That is for you to find out, Lelouch," Vergo declared. "Every question has its answer and I'm sure you'll find all the answers to your questions, you just need to look for them. But do you remember what you told Sphinx before I came to take you away?"

At the mention of his old friend, Vergo felt an unfamiliar stinginess prick his heart a little and fought hard to sigh heavily. Lelouch still didn't know since he had told him that Sphinx would be travelling into the world once again...

The Transponder Snail frowned. " _What of it?_ "

"Have you figured out what you wanted to be? Who you wanted to become?"

There was another silence at the end of the line.

"That's what I thought. Listen, there are countless of opportunities to take in the Grand Line; you and Saber have been in the New World for eleven years, training and becoming stronger. Now might be a good time to see the first half of the Grand Line, the one called 'Paradise'. I trust you with those documents, Black Mamba, keep them preciously with you and don't _ever_ loose them. If anything, destroy them should you be under assault. If I need backup, I'll call you." Then Vergo stopped talking, remembering something that might upset his protégé.

There was a high chance that he'll go there if the Vice-Admiral decided to tell him. And he and Saber will venture into Paradise to explore it – they _had_ to, anyway.

"Lelouch, there's something else I need to tell you," he said, his tone even.

The Transponder Snail reproduced the navigator's curious expression. " _I'm listening_."

"Something is going on in the desert kingdom of Alabasta. You should go there."

"... _what do you mean, Vergo-san?_ "

He looked at one file silently – the one that presented Crocodile.

"The Warlord, Crocodile, is being labeled a hero by the Alabastan people and has managed to gain their trust. The king, Nefertari Cobra, is now being branded as a traitor to their own country. Although it doesn't concern me at all and I couldn't care less of this kingdom, I felt like _you_ would. You've run into the princess once during your time with Sphinx, am I right? Nefertari Vivi?"

" _That silly princess is still alive?_ "

"Oh? I thought you have become friends with her." The snort he heard from his protégé made him smile in amusement for a few seconds. "I see. For your information, she disappeared some time ago only to reappear in Crocodile's secret organization, Baroque Works, as an undercover agent under the ridiculous name of 'Miss Wednesday'. My guess is, she's trying to gather informations to save her kingdom."

Lelouch snorted once again. " _Seriously, how foolish and stupid can she get? That's the dumbest mistake to make, since there must be someone who must have recognized her in Baroque Works – if not Crocodile himself, then his partner. I'm surprised she hasn't been killed off already, loose ends should be taken care of if the identity of the mastermind is revealed._ _And just_ how _does she intend to save Alabasta from Crocodile? He's one of the seven Warlords of the Sea and she's just a silly princess who's never been into the world and lives in a fantasy. She'll never make it that way._ " He hummed for a moment before speaking once again. " _You've convinced me, I'm not going back to the New World yet. Instead, I'm going to see Sphinx in Alabasta and watch what will happen. I still have the Eternal Pose he gave me before leaving, so there will be no problem sailing there. The idiot mustn't be home yet, so we'll have time to get there._ "

Once again, Vergo wanted to speak about Sphinx but couldn't for some reasons. And what would it do, anyway? Lelouch would have known one day, one way or another. If not from him, then from someone who knew the Alabastan in the desert kingdom (he'd always been pretty popular, so he must have made some good friends there.). Vergo nodded his consent.

"Alright then, I won't delay you two any further. Don't get involved if you don't really consider the princess your friend – that's not your fight."

" _Since when did you start caring about my relationships, Vergo-san?_ "

"I only care about those that won't lead you to an early grave."

Then he hung up. The Vice-Admiral got up from his seat, catching his coat.

"Now, what should I eat for lunch?"

* * *

"So we're going to Alabasta?" Saber asked, raising a brow as he followed the navigator through the streets to get to their grove where their ship lay. "How far is it from Sabaody?"

Lelouch massaged his forehead, feeling a headache coming. "Very far," he responded truthfully. "Since Sabaody Archipelago is the end of the first half of the Grand Line and one of the last obstacle with Fishmen Island before the New World, Alabasta is located almost at the beginning of the ocean, where Reverse Mountain is. We'll have about three to four weeks of sailing to reach the kingdom. Yes, _weeks_ ," the navigator chuckled as he noticed Saber's surprised expression. He showed him the single Log Pose placed on his right wrist. "It will take us weeks to get there if we dock at every island in our journey: this Log Pose is mainly used to travel from island to island in Paradise, unlike this Tri-Log Pose you need in the New World," he explained as he showed the Tri-Log Pose on his left wrist. The needles were spinning like crazy, since they weren't in the New World anymore. "There's no choice. But we can use my Eternal Pose to get to Alabasta in one go, without having to dock at an island."

"We better restock our supplies before leaving," Saber sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Then he looked up at the sky, thoughtful. "I'd like to dock at an island in Paradise just to see how it looked like, if it's similar to the New World and its harshness, but there's this problem in Alabasta that Vergo talked about; it's your native country, surely you must be concerned."

At once, Lelouch's expression turned a little bit somber as they now walked out of town. To be honest, he didn't really know how to feel: three years might be a long time for anyone who wasn't as busy as he was, but he hadn't seen the years pass. As for being concerned for Alabasta? Lelouch didn't want to lie to his friend, but he didn't really feel connected to the desert kingdom. He may have lived there for three years, but he didn't belong there like those who had been living in the country of their ancestors ever since – calling himself an Alabastan would be disrespectful according to him. Therefore, he won't take part into any kind of revolution since it didn't concern him at all. But he was willing to know what the hell was going in the country with Crocodile being there.

Running into princess Vivi during his time with Sphinx was just a coincidence: Lelouch didn't know _how_ and _when_ the former pirate could have bonded with the members of the royal family, and the rascal never answered the damn question. Seeing him talk to king Cobra as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other in years had been so strange to Lelouch that he had gaped, astounded that his master would address a king without manners. The navigator, who had been too exhausted but also very wary at the time, had saluted the regent with the respect he should have (even though the idea of bowing hadn't crossed his mind one bit, Lelouch had still nodded toward him.). As for princess Vivi?

She kind of reminded him of the one sister he's killed.

"Saber, I'm not going to lie to you but there was only one person I cared about in this country," Lelouch said as he and the marksman reached their grove. "Princess Vivi can be deemed as an 'acquaintance' at best because I didn't pursue a friendship with her."

The half-marsupial didn't appear surprised. "You don't like royalty," he declared confidently, as if he already knew the answer.

"No, I don't like royalty. I _despise_ it with all my might." Lelouch frowned, his eyes burning once again. "While there might be some decent kings who don't deceive their people because of some bullshit, there are others who should have their throats cut open because their regency is based upon fear and violence – what happened to Dressrosa eight years ago is an example of what deceitful regents do when they want something that is rightfully theirs. He could have made a deal with the former king Riku Doldo instead of using him as a puppet to commit crimes he'd never wanted to commit." _I'm the last person in the world to say that._ "Nevertheless, I want to see what this silly princess will do to save her precious Alabasta."

'Their' ship now in sight, they could now release the tension they'd been feeling ever since they landed on Sabaody Archipelago, but they restrained themselves; they weren't out yet and just looking at Saber's tense expression made Lelouch want to get the hell out of this place (just so he could listen to his friend's bubbly self once they were out of here.), but they first to make sure they had enough supplies aboard. Lelouch jumped onboard, making his way toward the captain on the front deck. Hijacking a pirate ship had become one of the navigator's hobbies when he needed one to sail and didn't have G-5 units to use their ships and, this time, it was going to be pretty useful as the pirates he and Saber tricked into taking them to the islands they wanted to go had been defeated by the harshness of the New World.

"Captain Wen, I trust that you've restocked our supplies after we've left?" Lelouch asked. "Because we're about to be off to a long journey toward a certain island we need to go to."

Captain Wen of the Freesia pirates, a tall dark-skinned man with blue eyes and a scar over his right eye, glanced at him uneasily before nodding. "We did restock our supplies, but I'd like to know where we're going this time. We're already back in Paradise, so telling us when you'd give us our freedom back would be nice."

Lelouch 'smiled' at his boldness. "That's a bit demanding coming from someone who fled the New World like a dog with his tail between his legs," he replied, earning himself an angry snarl from the pirate captain. "And to think you must have been bragging all night along about how you'd take the New World by storm, that's just pathetic. I don't blame you, but you should have been prepared." He turned away, facing the ocean and missing the murderous look Captain Wen was sending him. "We're going to Alabasta."

Not only did he get Captain Wen's attention, he also had the rest of the crew's; everyone turned toward him, surprised to hear that they'd have to travel so far back to the beginning of Paradise. Only Saber, who had settled down high up here on the mast, hanging by his long tail like the half-monkey he was, remained calm and aloof.

"The desert kingdom?" the marksman of the crew wondered, confused. "Why?"

"That's none of your business," the navigator replied smoothly, taking his Eternal Pose out to watch the position of the needle. It was pointing straight ahead of them, past the bubbles and the mangrove trees. "Just take us there, Saber and I have something to do there. You, on the other hand, will be able to sail free as long as you take us to Alabasta without a complaint."

The surprise he had spread around quickly faded into hope as all the pirates began to smile and talk among each other – they hadn't been able to catch a good break ever since those two beat them to a fight all. By. Themselves. Although they weren't Marine officers or pirates either, they had assumed that they were just bounty hunters. They'd been astounded to hear that Lelouch and Saber were just 'travelers'. Hearing that they'd be rid of those two monsters spurred everyone in the crew; even Captain Wen stopped snarling at the navigator.

"C'mon, guys, you heard him!" he shouted to his men. "This is our last journey with them, let's get this over with once and for all!"

"YEAH!"

Now that all the pirates were preparing to depart, Lelouch turned his thoughts toward the country that welcomed him. He couldn't help it. What should he be expecting from Alabasta thirteen years later? Things must have changed a lot since he left all these years ago; the arrival of a Warlord of the Sea in a kingdom was something Lelouch didn't really like, especially someone like Crocodile. From what he's heard about him, the man was as ruthless as diabolical and couldn't be trusted. He looked like the type to backstab his 'partner' after he got what he wanted, not some hero. He may be a 'dog of the World Government' to many but, to those who weren't so blind, he still remained a pirate.

Vergo was a pirate too under the mantle of the Marines, belonging to Doflamingo's crew, so there was no need for him to mess with Crocodile's plans. The fact that he decided to tell him about what was going on in Alabasta was weird, since his master had always made sure he wouldn't get distracted by thinking of his past years in the desert kingdom and only focused both his mind and energy on training. Nevertheless, since Lelouch was intent on exploring Paradise (and maybe visit the Blues if Saber wasn't too excited.), it was all the more natural they'd somehow end up in Alabasta one way or another.

Plus, Lelouch and Saber would have to make sure they wouldn't get into trouble all the way from Sabaody Archipelago to the desert kingdom. Though the Freesia pirates they had blackmailed into giving them free rides were tough enough to take care of themselves, the expert navigator was sure there was something more to the story Sicario told them; his gaze dropped on the confidential documents he's put in his bag and he frowned. There was also Sicario's Transponder Snail he had snatched from the bounty hunter since this was the only way to communicate with whoever was looking for him – Sicario may or may not have communicated again with his acolyte before Lelouch's arrival, but he surely was supposed to meet with the person he's made a deal with. That person will have a nasty surprise: a bounty hunter not coming to the meeting and unable to present the documents he's stolen. Ah, Lelouch would have wanted to witness that. But it was wiser to lay low and leave the Archipelago.

Once the ship was sailing out of the accursed island and getting a little further from it, Saber started to beam. His tense face broke into a wide grin and he exhaled, utterly relieved.

"Well, so long Sabaody!" he called, balancing himself with his tail. His green eyes twinkled. "It hasn't been a pleasure!"

* * *

 _About fifteen minutes later_...

"... no way."

This was all the man could say as he stared at Sicario's fallen form on the ground, both bewildered and frustrated at the same time. The bounty hunters had all been taken out, some were dead and others were alive – but just barely – and their hideout wasn't standing anymore. If you looked closely at some of the planks, some had been cut through as if a very sharp blade had done these damages. Only powerful swordsmen – or swordsmasters like Dracule Mihawk – and people having learnt one move of the _Rokushiki_ technique (the _Rankyaku_.) could do something like this to a building.

The man groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was wearing a dark suit with an equally dark fedora hat. Needless to say, an agent of the World Government could get to Sabaody Archipelago if he wanted to since the island was close to the Holy Land of Mariejois, but what business would he have with bounty hunters? Unless he had managed to bribe them into getting something done for them, agents of the World Government wouldn't bother wasting time on them. But this case was particularly special, since it concerned someone who had attracted the attention of his boss.

But from what he was seeing right now, someone had outright gotten here first. And this someone had taken the confidential files the bounty hunter Sicario had been tasked to steal.

"Damn it, this can't be happening!" he cursed as he searched for his Transponder Snail. "The boss isn't going to be happy about that. Whoever did that also got the files about Canterbury Lelouch..."

He dialed a number, let it ring, then instantly winced at the loud voice.

" _AAAARGH! HOT, HOT! WHAT AN IDIOT,_ _I SPILLED COFFEE ON ME_ _!_ " the man screeched at the top of his voice, as if he were alone. There were curses and movements that could be heard on the other side of the line, once again done by the ever fumbling boss. When everything seemed to be in order, the other man answered. " _Hello, can you hear me? It's Spandam_."

"Yes, I can hear you, boss," the agent replied, stopping himself before he could sigh.

" _Good. Have you recovered the documents as expected?_ "

The agent winced once again, this time in frustration. Spandam truly wasn't going to like this. "...Boss, we've got a problem."

The screaming didn't take too much time to follow suit. " _WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED, YOU INCOMPETENT?!_ "

* * *

 **Author's Note 3:** _"A gentle smile and a dignified smile,_

 _Your adorable smile,_

 _Silver hearts and gold hearts,_

 _I'll give them all to you,_

 _Alchemi, Alchema,_

 _Hold the gold star,_

 _Alchemi, Alchema,_

 _Go into a dream_

 _Go into a dream."_

Have you watched _One Piece: Heart of Gold_ , the prequel of _One Piece: Gold_? It was awesome, so I guess the sequel is gonna be surprising! And good. Also: this lovely lullaby won't ever leave my mind.


	3. Bits of Wanderlust

**Author's Note 1:** And now I'm waiting for _Gold_!

 **Author's Note 2:** I assume that someone has a better nickname for Lelouch than 'Black Mamba'? Well, it will have to do for awhile. Hehe, be patient **Guest**. Oh and **RedHerring142** , thanks for giving me a word to describe Lelouch's different colored eyes! Ah, and thanks for enlightening me about Saber, **The Richmaster**!

* * *

 **Chapter Three:** Bits of Wanderlust

* * *

" _The smallest grain of sand that disrupts the balance_

 _can be both a blessing and a curse._

 **Which one are you?** _"_

* * *

If anything, sailing through Paradise was shockingly opposite to sailing through the harsh waves of the New World – even though the name 'Paradise' didn't really match with the reality that was the first half of the Grand Line, Lelouch truly had no difficulty sensing the climatic changes in the weather since he had become very sensible to it; their first storm had caught them just two hours after leaving Sabaody Archipelago and Lelouch, who had been out to check their position, had felt the change in the atmospheric pressure as if he'd been shocked by an electric current. This storm, while wild, had nothing on those he'd endured in the New World during his time with Vergo's unit (he'll never admit it, but some tornados almost made Lelouch shit his pants. But Saber? The marsupial was _laughing_ _his head off_!), and with the advanced knowledge and experience he had acquired, the navigator could have said that it would be a piece of cake to travel safely all the way to Alabasta. Encountering Sea Kings was fun as well, especially for Lelouch's hybrid friend who ended up cutting one to pieces after playing with it (trust monkeys to turn something highly dangerous to something extremely hilarious: watching Saber use a Sea King that looked like a giant flamingo as a waterslide had cracked Lelouch's usually cool behaviour, and he'd been chuckling uncontrollably for minutes before calming down.). Ferret, who was the navigator of the Freesia Pirates, had asked for advice with twitching features and had been unable to conceal the burning jealousy on his face when a smirking Lelouch had flat out refused to give out any tips about navigation. Messing with them was another hobby the pair liked to do on daily basis.

But as Lelouch was told, the Grand Line was full of surprises. So he had to be careful; even though the Freesia Pirates wouldn't dare to mutiny – and even if they did, Saber still could cut their ship into pieces after throwing them into the ocean –, they still had them outnumbered. Not that it actually was a problem. As for the weather, while the sudden changes in temperature didn't surprise him anymore as he's learnt that in his books, it still fascinated him beyond wonder. And there was also the fact that each island had its own climate (winter islands, summer ones, autumnal ones and spring ones were incredible to study. _This world would never cease to amaze me_ , he'd told himself one day, his heterochromatic eyes twinkling in awe.) in Paradise, very much like in the New World. When Vergo came to take Lelouch away from the desert kingdom years ago, he'd had his units sail them directly to Sabaody – even though they had stop by two islands or three to restock their supplies – and so, the boy hadn't been able to fully enjoy and study their climate. If anything, it just spurred him to become a navigator so that he'd be the only one to decide his destination – and hijacking a pirate ship was just as fun as he thought it would be. He and Saber had never tried on a bounty hunter's before, but it might be a little more challenging and dangerous (not that the marksman _and_ treasurer actually minded that...).

Lelouch took a breath, then exhaled softly to watch it appear in front of him. It was rather chilly that night. _We must be nearby a winter island_ , he thought as he put his fluffy hood on. Saber will be ecstatic; as Zaran Island was a winter island in the New World, he grew up training and playing in the snow (and mostly during hellish snowstorms!), so there was a high chance the monkey would come out of his cabin screaming enthusiastically, beaming and going mad with joy. Even Lelouch couldn't help but feel nostalgic as he looked at the grey, cloudy sky; wintry days at the Aries Villa before the dreaded tragedy had been full of joy and laughs, and Nunnally had always been so beautiful with her eyes twinkling in mirth and awe at the snow. Even recalling Euphemia and Cornelia when they'd come by to spend time with them made him want to smile.

"Good times, my beloved Nunnally," he mused as he put his hands in his pockets. His white and black winter outfit was both comfy and warm, allowing him to move as he pleases. Then he smiled softly, his eyes drifting in the distance. "I do hope that the world I left is to your liking and, most of all, peaceful."

Even though it might be too hopeful, it still made him want to believe that everything he did had been worth dying for during the Zero Requiem by Suzaku's hands. Tapping the heel of his boot on the wooden deck, he looked up just in time to see the first snowflake fall right in front of him. Lelouch extended his gloved hand to catch it, waited until it fell right into his palm, then watched it melt slowly. Just as fleeting as life was. He closed his heterochromatic eyes, smiling slightly.

As he predicted, he heard the sound of rushed footsteps on the wooden deck and, sure enough, Lelouch's marsupial friend came skidding; the white-haired hybrid had an ear-splitting grin on his face, wore a greenish coat (which made the navigator frown in confusion, because Saber was born on a winter island, had always been surrounded by snow and winter all his life until now. Why the heck was he wearing a coat when he didn't need one?), dark pants and dark boots. And if Lelouch wasn't wrong, there was an excited gleam in his eyes.

"What's wrong? You sound damn excited for some reason. Am I to believe that you have a request?" Lelouch asked him, blinking.

"Damn right! And because of several reasons I was forced to agree to, I need to ask you something!" Saber exclaimed, still smiling and skidding to a halt right beside Lelouch. He nimbly leapt onto the railing, coiled his long tail around the metallic bar to prevent himself from falling stupidly into the water and looked at his friend with large, green eyes. "I can tell we're approaching a winter island because of the colder climate, my tail wouldn't stop wriggling and my tuft is growing. Look!"

He was right: the black and white tuft on Saber's tail, that was always small when visiting islands with warmer climates, had slightly grown bigger. And though it didn't require him much to lift and use it freely, the navigator could tell it bothered him. Lelouch snorted, amused, and shook his head. Those little things about Quarin Sabertooth and his hybridity truly were something else.

He checked the Log Pose on his wrist. The needle was pointing slightly on their left, while the one in the Eternal Pose still pointed ahead.

"Ah, that's right: I remember you telling me that nearing a freezing area would prompt your tail to absorb the cold and stuff it so your body can withstand hot temperatures for awhile," Lelouch said, looking back at Saber's swishing tail. Then he remembered Alabasta's harsh desert and its nearly unbearable hot temperature, making him wince in distate. "You'd be helpless and useless if you end up unable to walk under the sun, but you'd be fully energized at night because it's colder."

The hybrid scowled, displeased and annoyed. "Lelouch, do you _really_ have to remind me of my weakness?"

"And if someone in the desert tries to attack us, how will you fare on your own? I'd hate to be you, just so you know," the dark-haired navigator chuckled, shaking his head. Soon, his body even started trembling due to his building laughter in his chest, making Saber snarl in anger. "Remember that time when we went into a resort and you ended up with such a bad sunburn?"

"Damn it, Lelouch!" Saber yelled out, flailing. "Don't push it, man!"

The navigator didn't seem to heed his warning as he continued to laugh harder, almost bent in two. His face was flushed and tears were beginning to appear in his closed eyes – now that was a rare thing Lelouch had been able to do; laughing like this felt _amazing_! He hadn't allowed himself to laugh freely and genuinely during his rebellion against the Holy Britannian Empire, let alone in the presence of Nunnally and his friends (he really had become cold and somehow devoid of positive emotions when he was gifted with the power of the Kings, hadn't he? Unable to see beyond the thrill of his new power, using it to such great lengths to take down powerful enemies – and take innocent lives at the same time – and straying from his path... Lelouch Lamperouge gave the word 'demon' a new definition with his actions.). And boy did it feel _so good_.

He gave Saber his consent to change their course toward the winter island with great difficulty and between uncontrollable chuckles, grimaced when the hybrid literally yelled for the pirate navigator, Ferret, to change the course (with some vile insults thrown at each other. Who knew that Saber had such a sassy mouth?). The ship shifted slightly to the left, following Lelouch's directions, and the expert navigator finally calmed down a little bit as he sighed delightfully, wiping his eyes. He was still smiling widely.

"You laughed as if you hadn't for a long time," the hybrid said as he looked at his friend, eyes searching. "And here I originally thought you were immune to positive reactions and emotions. Was there something terrible that happened to you before we met, Lelouch?"

"Maybe. But like I said, now isn't the time to tell you," Lelouch replied, straightening himself up. His smile slowly faded from his face, expression turning back to being serious. "But jokes aside, we need to discuss about what we've learnt so far in my case."

Saber gave a grunt, nodding. "Yeah. But not onboard: there are way too many eavesdroppers I might be tempted to shoot and wasting precious bullets on worthless targets is stupid," he scowled unhappily at the small bunch of pirates present on deck.

"Agreed. Let's land and find some place private enough to talk."

It was only a matter of time before both Lelouch and Saber would discuss the subject – Lelouch's files. And that blacklist of Devil Fruits that shouldn't fall in any hands. Discovering this made the navigator realize that their 'peaceful' days had abruptly come to an end as they were now, kind of, on the run from an enemy they didn't know anything about...yet. The World Government was too many things that went beyond inhumanity and even if there already was the Revolutionary Army to fight it back, it still wasn't enough to overtake it. Lelouch scowled in annoyance, glaring in the distance. Powerful people within the World Government with thousands of connections in the Marine corps and the Cipher Pol were now after them, seriously intent on finding out if he truly was the one who now wielded the Terror-Terror Fruit (and if they did discover the truth, there was a high chance he'd be ruthlessly killed or imprisoned in Impel Down. They could keep him in the lowest level of the underwater prison until he died, but the safest solution would be to kill Lelouch and recover his Devil Fruit once it grew back somewhere in the Grand Line. And even if they did recover his power, it was an unending cycle; the chances of it being stolen might be near zero, but Vergo still managed to get it and made Lelouch swallow it. So it _could_ likely happen once again.). Sixteen years of learning about this world to its roots, all the organizations, the people who had the power to obliterate the dangers – people deemed 'evil' by Admiral Akainu, for example –, those who were doing everything to escape from a fate they hadn't chosen from the beginning and trying to figure out what his next goal would be were worth going through madness, after all. If sacrificing half or more of his mind to a blacklisted Devil Fruit could 'help' him...

"You could try by fully trusting Saber, you know. He's so willing to follow you, Lelouch."

He almost snorted out loud. _Ah_. How long had it been since he last heard _her_ voice? He felt like it's been years. And he had now all the pain in the world to refrain himself from glaring at her, because that wouldn't go unnoticed by Saber; Lelouch found out the hard way how to master his Devil Fruit before it could consume him, and he certainly hadn't expected it to come with such... _consequences_. Firstly, his mind lost to madness. Secondly, uncover people's most secret and terrifying fears to make them an illusion so close to reality that you'd become brain dead if you didn't figure out that you were seeing illusions. And thirdly, _this damn shit_.

It was bad enough that Vergo took advantage of his sleepy state to make him swallow the fruit, but not even him could have known about that. The Terror-Terror Fruit was also a promise of eternal mental torture to its wielder; when Lelouch managed to master the dreadful power in his eightienth year in this world, he found out that he'd forever be damned to see the people he'd killed. And also talk to them, only to discover that he'd be the only one to actually see them since they'd become part of him. It was as if their very presence had been implanted into his mind; they had the same voice, the same personality, the same face, the same age... exactly when they died by his hand. However, the only ones who never stopped appearing used to belong in his past life, and they'd made it clear that they would always remain in his mind until he died. Even a second chance in another world couldn't be enough to atone for his sins. That was beyond twisted and he knew twisted, but he felt he truly deserved it. He would be a fool to think that he would come back to life 'unscathed' and 'fixed' – Lelouch had to admit it, his Geass had fucked him up so bad that not even a miracle would work. What had been broken in his mind would never be repaired. And somehow, that worked with his Devil Fruit; only a mind twisted by madness could wield and master Fear itself.

Lelouch grounded his jaws together, glaring at the winter island they were bound to visit for Saber's sake. She wasn't making it easier by talking now and trying to reason with him, and her appearance always managed to make his insides clench with crushing guilt. Even weirder, her violet eyes were never accusing and full of hatred.

"I was beyond happy to see that you'd seized this chance to start over in this strange world," she said, her voice angelic. Her silky, pink locks flew around her bloody self as it was gently swerved by the chilly breeze. "We watched all your steps, all your decisions and actions, even though we've disapproved of some."

 _Not now. Shut up._

That blood around her lovely face never matched with her princely looks, and the awful nickname she'd been given after the massacre she'd created by his fault at the Nippon ceremony sullied her angelic personality. Why Euphemia would appear to him while wearing the ruined and bloodstained attire she doned during the massacre was a complete mystery to Lelouch (and a torture. Remembering that he had to kill the first girl he ever loved in order to stop the bloodshed he had accidentally caused was his first torture and challenge when she made her very first appearance to him.). There was not a single moment during which he didn't regret killing her, but _Clovis_... Clovis deserved it.

When the pirate ship finally anchored, the monkey man jumped high in the air, screaming a ' _YAHOOOOOOOO!_ ' before promptly diving into the snow. The only thing they could see about Saber was his long tail swishing madly, its tuft still absorbing the cold air. Lelouch, who wasn't in the mood to talk to the ghost of his late sister, proceeded to follow after his friend and walked past her. He even ignored Euphemia's pleading look, who could sway everyone.

"Please, Lelouch..."

 _Shut. Up. Don't talk to me, I'm not in the mood right now._

The best thing to do would be to ignore her, but the late princess always wanted to remain by his side no matter what: she'd speak her mind about any situation Lelouch and Saber were in, standing on the side and watching the events unfold. And all this blood from the Elevens she had killed just wouldn't leave...not that he wouldn't have liked to see his dear sister again, but the fact that the only way to talk to Euphemia was through his god-forsaken Devil Fruit abilities was damn twisted. Clovis could stay and rot in hell for all he cared, but his second favorite sister was another story and he didn't know where to begin – apologize for killing her to stop the horrible slaughter she had caused under the control his Geass? No, that would be far too useless and not enough to make up for her death, especially when Euphemia could have lived a far better life if she hadn't figured out he was Zero in the first place. In fact, he really shouldn't have underestimated her – she was smarter than that.

Captain Wen, who had come up to get a glimpse of the island they were now set to visit (thanks to a hexing, screaming hybrid.), glanced at the New World navigator.

"Aren't you in a hurry to go to Alabasta?" he asked, careful not to show his displeasure. "I thought you wanted to get there as fast as possible."

"And when did you hear me say such things, Captain?" Lelouch retorted back, lacing his boots tightly. He didn't turn back to see the confused frown on the man's face. "I only said we needed to get there, not that it was absolutely urgent. I don't like being rushed. Are you this desperate to get rid of us? What's the rush? I thought we had become friends."

"Don't even think about something I wouldn't dream of, you bastard!"

Lelouch waved him off as he stood and crossed his arms, smirking mockingly. "Fine, not that it would matter to me anyway. But since you started this conversation, then let's continue it to the end: once Saber and I are done with you, what will you do? Will you go back to being whatever you were before becoming pirates?" At this question, he lifted his mismatched eyes to stare unblinkingly at the captain, who now wore a confused frown once again. "Because it takes a lot to decide to sail the Grand Line and become someone in this messed up world; whether I'm right or wrong, you might have sacrificed a good life and left a family to pursue a dream..." Lelouch's eyes gave an eerie glow as they stared Captain Wen down. The pupils even dilated slowly until the mismatched colours could barely still be visible. "...and all this went up in flames the second you all let the fear overcome your mind."

As the last words left Lelouch's mouth, a very disturbing picture suddenly flashed in Wen's mind. One that immediately spread fear in every fiber of his body, from his mind to his heart. And if he were still shocked about his defeat in the New World, then he wouldn't know how to describe what he was seeing right now.

" _Peek-a-boo... I saw you..."_

 _Now this was a sentence he hadn't heard in many, many years – mainly because he had run away from the cause of his most feared nightmare after escaping a bloodbath, terror-filled. It used to amuse Wen and make him smile and laugh in mirth, but after the terrible tragedy, it just chilled him to the bone. The 'cause', being someone he once loved with all his might, had fallen into madness and slaughtered everyone in his path – friends, neighbours, parents. Even animals weren't spared._

 _It really was amazingly devastating how something, even seemingly meaningless, could disrupt anything; peace and love, for example, used to reign in the village Wen was born in. And it was gone, bloodied and destroyed by his once loving brother._

 _When he looked down, Wen couldn't hold the shocked shriek that almost tore his throat. So much blood, so many corpses. All of them sporting the same terror-filled expression, mouth still hanging open in muted horror because they didn't have enough time to scream the name of their captain to warn him of the danger that was going to take their life. Some had lost limbs – head, arms, legs. And the smell – Gods, that horrid smell! The smell of decaying bodies hung in the small area, like an ominous cloud that just wouldn't leave. It made the pirate captain want to vomit whatever was in his stomach, because he couldn't bear this sight._

 _And vomit he did: he suddenly fell on his knees, retching loudly on the mangled body of his first mate (hell, he didn't mean to...). He wheezed, trying to suppress the bitter taste of his bile, eyes wide in disbelief and terror. How could such thing happen to his friends? To_ him _? He was sure he had buried his past behind, refusing to talk about it so that no one would know his ultimate fear. Not even his first mate knew about this._

 _The tears fell long before he could feel that he was about to cry. Pitiful: he had sworn he would never shed tears after having thought that he had moved on. And though there was nothing wrong in crying, Wen still felt like a cowardly weakling – just like when he scrambled away from the New World with his crew, barely making it back to Paradise (it was only thanks to that Lelouch bastard and his hybrid of a friend that they managed to go back to the first half of the Grand Line. His navigatory skills were astounding.). Slowly, he looked down at his trembling hands and barely held back a strangled sob at the sight of the blood on his skin._

" _It can't be...," Wen croaked faintly, panting._

 _There was a dark chuckle behind him, which paralyzed the pirate in sheer terror. He even stopped breathing, as the oh-so familiar laugh came closer to him; the sound of footsteps echoed in his ears, as eerie as the silence that hung in the air. Wen started shivering from head to toe, all of his muscles frozen in fear. His heartbeat had abruptly picked up the pace, hurting his ribcage in the process. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a lithe yet muscular figure walk gracefully past him, and stop once the person had gotten in front of his quivering form. Wen, whose will seemed to have abandoned him, slowly lifted his head to look at the monster in the eyes._

 _He couldn't prevent the shocked gasp that left his throat, his eyes widening in petrified shock._

 _That was his brother alright; he had the same blue hair, the hateful sneer he had adorned when he slaughtered their family and entire village. His outfit – no, his entire body was stained from killing Wen's crewmembers, smeared with their blood. But what actually made Wen's own blood run awfully cold was his eyes. They weren't blue, those were mismatched._ Gold _and_ purple _._

 _Why the hell did his insane brother have the same eyes as_ Canterbury Lelouch _?_

 _The sneer became a wide smirk, and a hand shot up to grab Wen by his throat. The fingers tightened around the neck, slowly strangling the pirate captain._

" _Do you remember Peek-a-boo and Hide & Seek, Wen?" his brother asked, his haunting voice echoing loudly in Wen's ears. "You used to love those games. Shame about your crewmembers, right?"_

 _Stricken with great grief and rage at the same time, Wen roared and struck, hoping to hurt the bastard really. Bad._

Only to be easily blocked by a smirking Canterbury Lelouch, whose mismatched eyes gleamed with an eerie glee that only insane people would understand and share. The pupils were still dilated, barely leaving any space for the mismatched colours to shine. He had his hand wrapped tightly around Wen's throat and the other holding his fist, standing in front of his kneeling form – exactly like his brother. Exactly like in the vision he just had. It was the same stance. _That's impossible_ , the pirate captain thought fearfully, panting and eyes wide in sheer terror. What the hell was that? It had been so... fucking _real_.

"So," Lelouch drawled, leaning in so that their faces would be close. His darkened eyes were still gleaming devilishly. "how was my illusion? I've been working hard to make them real enough for my victims to be fooled."

Captain Wen was so stunned he couldn't utter a word – they would die out in his throat, swallowed by the fear he felt creeping in like crawling spiders on his skin. He just stared dumbly at Lelouch who, judging by the mocking smirk he was giving him, must have somehow seen what the pirate just saw one way or another and was making cruel fun of it. Had Canterbury Lelouch eaten the Illusion-Illusion Fruit? For him to cast an illusion this real and being able to trap his victims by making them believe anything they'd do or had done, he must be pretty powerful – Wen himself, who was sharp enough to make the difference between reality and a dream, hadn't been able to guess that he was seeing an illusion. His fear had blinded him and clouded his mind so that his reason couldn't clear his judgement. With just that, Wen knew one thing: that man was ten thousand times more dangerous than he thought.

The navigator glanced on his right, noticing that the first mate of the Freesia Pirates had drawn his sword and was pointing it at him, and his smirk widened. Flexing the muscles along the arm that was holding the captain captive, Lelouch lifted him by his throat to look up at his fear-filled eyes (Damn, it had truly been worth going through inhuman training under crazed instructors for years, after all...).

"It's actually impressive that you managed to get this far while being afraid of your past catching up to you," he commented, his eyes now regaining their mismatched colours and their pupils their normal size. "Your darkest nightmares are like food to me, I can practically taste your fear. No wonder you all ran away with your tails between your legs when you got defeated in the New World, you all reek of terror. And you!" he called to the first mate, whose eyes burnt with hatred. "Concealing your fear behind this hatred for me and Saber is useless: I still can feel it pulsing around and from your body and mind like a halo."

The first mate, though secretly intimidated, never wavered. "Release him before I cut you to pieces," he hissed furiously, the tip of his sword dangerously close to his face.

Lelouch stared at him, expression blank as if he were thinking about letting go or not. Then he smirked mockingly. "Sure thing,"

With that, he flung the pirate captain at the first mate, watching as the duo crashed onto the wooden deck. His mismatched eyes took on the terrified expression and look on Wen and Lelouch felt a wave of satisfaction hit him. The illusion had worked! Had he decided to leave his victim into it, the pirate surely would have had his mind broken and he would have watched that with cruel sadism. _The Terror-Terror Fruit really messed with my head_ , he mentally mused as he opened one palm, concentrating a portion of his power into this hand. Small, black and white will-o-wisps danced in his palm, spinning slowly.

Using his powers on yet another victim was dangerous; someone was after him, be it the World Government or someone else, and must be tailing them right now. Should the Freesia Pirates be interrogated about Canterbury Lelouch, their captain would undoubtedly say that he had used some kind of weird, twisted trick and had made him see a terrible illusion. Did he know that illusion could have cost his mind (and his life as well should he decide to commit suicide in order to prevent the madness from fully overcoming him.) if either he hadn't mastered his darkest fears or Lelouch hadn't lifted the horrible spell? Making his victims taste their own fears was risky, especially because he was now blacklisted. He would have to do something about that.

"Now that you've become a pirate, it's for life," Lelouch said as he looked back at Wen, the first mate and the others who had heard the commotion. "You can never go back to being what you were. I'm not a pirate, nor do I care about what's going to happen to you once our deal is off and we've reached Alabasta, but I'm pretty sure that pirates who run away from the New World are viewed as weakling cowards who don't deserve to be called pirates. It's 'Do it or die trying', not 'Try to act tough, shit your pants and run'." He fisted his hand, extinguishing the will-o-wisps, and raised a brow at the tense pirates who had bristled at the insult. "You've embraced a pirate's life and, if you want my opinion, you should actually try to go back to the New World after a little bit of training."

"Like we care about your advices, you twisted shark!"

Lelouch chuckled darkly, putting his fluffy hood back on. "Hey, I'm not trying to order you around, I'm just suggesting that could spur you to come back in full force. Nevertheless," he added as he hopped gracefully onto the edge. "you should try that before you end up captured and sent to Impel Down. That could be a lot more enjoyable than prison."

Then he jumped down, landing on the snow, and looked around for his friend's tail. It was gone and Saber was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a long row that had been dug in the snow as if a rabbit had done his business underneath. It continued up ahead, right inside the woods. Lelouch rolled his eyes in exasperation, readjusting his hold on his backpack. He was in for a rather long walk with his friend right here – luckily, he had his Haki to sense Saber's (not that he would get lost or anything, it was just going to be a pain with all this snow.) or he could just follow his Vivre Card (all the while hoping he wouldn't get into some stupid trouble that could put his life at stake, because that ape was good at finding trouble _and_ gold.).

"And where has the monkey run off to now?" he muttered, narrowing his mismatched eyes at the forest before him. "Monkeys don't dig tunnels like moles or rabbits, they're just looking for trouble."

At the very least, the Freesia Pirates wouldn't dare make the dumb mistake of leaving – Lelouch had ensured that the captain would remain fear-stricken until he and Saber got back, ready to resume their journey to Alabasta. And even Ferret had his hands tied, so it wasn't like the navigator could get everyone to turn on them – what was a navigator without his tools? Wen wasn't stupid enough to go against a monster who was ten thousand times stronger than he was. He entered the woods, leaving the pirate ship and its angry owners behind.

* * *

If Lelouch didn't count the animals he crossed paths with, the forest proved to be quite enjoyable for now; there were no real disturbances or surprise enemy attacks that would have required retaliation and some blood spilled if he were to be forced to, but he did meet some animals that didn't and shouldn't live in such environment – such as a tall and big elephant wearing warm clothes to protect itself from the freezing cold (really, Lelouch had been stupefied to encounter a herd of elephants all dressed just as warmly as the one he had crossed paths with minutes ago. All of them were joyously playing in the snow and building snowmen, and some had even wanted to get the young navigator to play with them by tossing him in the air as if he were a child.).

"Talk about being overfriendly," he had muttered after having lost most of them in the wild. "I'd have loved to play with them a little, but there's a monkey I've got to retrieve ASAP."

Unfortunately, him running away from the elephants had driven further away from his path – thus, he lost Saber's trail in the snow. Cursing his luck, Lelouch scowled unhappily as he marched to recover the distance he had been forced to backtrack; a quick scan over a large chunk of the area with his Observation Haki told him that he was still far away from his friend, who must be doing God knows what, but something weird had held his attention and he had made such a disgusted grimace when he saw the familiar flashy colours that it contrasted drastically with his handsome looks. So there was something this creepy on this island? And here he thought that the Florean Triangle, the stories about this place and the 'ghosts' that were supposed to live where the master of shadows and Warlord, Gecko Moria, lived on Thriller Bark were creepier than his own Devil Fruit... knowing that they might have to go through the fog of the Florean Triangle annoyed him to no end.

But even so, Lelouch had better things to think about even though Saber wasn't with him to give theories. Taking the stolen files from his backpack, he peered down at the informations recorded on paper with a frown. Why a miserable bounty hunter would risk his damn life to steal files from a Vice-Admiral based in the New World baffled him, but there had to be more to the story, especially if he was concerned; Sicario had said that he was supposed to meet with someone to give the files away, but _who_? If Lelouch were to choose, he'd say the World Government right away because that seemed to be the most logical answer – a Devil Fruit that had been deemed forbidden due to the deadly damages it could cause had been stolen right from under their nose, and should someone intelligent know how to properly use the properties of fear and everything that came with the power, the consequences would be large. Lelouch actually understood why they would want the Devil Fruit back...or himself securely locked away so that the world could forget his existence. He snorted in contempt, annoyed. _My congratulations, Vergo_ , he thought cynically with twitching features, _for making me a target_. Having the World Government breathing down his neck would be a pain, especially if there would be a bounty placed on his head; the amount would at least be as high as anyone directly wanted dead by the Government, which would appeal to a lot of greedy people (bounty hunters, civilians, pirates... there would be a lot of blood spilled if they didn't give Lelouch a choice in the matter.). Living in a world directed by fear would be akin to hell itself, so why not just capture the embodiment of the emotion that could lead the entire world to self-destruction?

Plus, there was another one that could also create dire situations and plunge the world into chaos; while Lelouch's Terror-Terror Fruit could dig up his victim's most feared nightmares and replay them into dreadful illusions he could twist by sheer will and imagination, the case of one of the last Devil Fruits on the blacklist was all the more terrifying if anyone knew how to wield it. Any Devil Fruit user must have some imagination when using his powers, otherwise it would end up being useless in battle (that was one of the many reasons Lelouch had asked Vergo to teach him some techniques of his own fighting style. Creating illusions out of the fear of everyone around him might be both great and twisted, but he clearly knew that he just couldn't rely on his powers, as incredible as they were.). On par with the Terror-Terror Fruit, Lelouch had been astonished to see that there was an actual Devil Fruit that would allow its user to just use his imagination.

" _It's not just some random power," he had told Saber when they were both on watch at night. "This one works on the mind and causes physical consequences at the same time. It's a little bit like mine, in a way: my illusions can literally drive you mad if you don't master your fears and will eat you up until there's nothing sane left in your mind – therefore driving you to commit suicide because you wouldn't be able to get rid of the nightmares. If you can't see it's an illusion, then it will be too late for you to counter it. And I recently discovered that even if you do happen to master your fears, that doesn't I will undoubtedly allow your mind to be free of my web: I'm the embodiment of Fear itself, so that also means that I can keep you prisoner of your own mind and nightmares for as long as I want."_

 _Saber had looked shaken, his eyes wide in disbelief. "I see. Then it's a good thing that you don't abuse of your own power, since you would have been found out much earlier. So, about that other Devil Fruit... do you think the Imagination-Imagination Fruit could_ really _exist?"_

" _And I was once convinced that there couldn't be a Devil Fruit such as mine, so it couldn't just be a pipe dream." Lelouch crossed his arms, looking thoughtful. "The World Government aren't a bunch of fools, they'd been right to create a blacklist for Devil Fruits. As much as they make me want to hurl, I have to salute their thinking. They must have it locked up with all the other forbidden Devil Fruits in a safe somewhere in Mariejois... and again, I really want to know how Vergo managed to get it if it was locked up there." He sighed, rubbing his forehead. Then he looked at his friend. "I don't think I've experienced and mastered all the possibilities I could realize with my powers, but we can at the very least guess what's Imagination itself can cause to this messed up world. Let's think of an example: Saber, what could possibly happen if an handicaped person or even a mentally ill one were to eat a blacklisted Devil Fruit, be it mine or the Imagination-Imagination Fruit?"_

Disasters couldn't be avoided sometimes, but walking disasters proved to be unpredictable – Lelouch had grudgingly become one after finding out about the blacklist, not that he had much of an actual choice in the matter. The Terror-Terror Fruit was devastating enough on its own and left little space for limits, but he had a disturbing feeling that the Imagination-Imagination Fruit could allow its user to do things that must go beyond possible and impossible. If Lelouch had to guess, he'd say that limits wouldn't even exist anymore for the user of such Devil Fruit if he were to actually try to explore everything and anything he could do. There really wouldn't be boundaries with Imagination itself, as Fear had some if the victim were to overcome his nightmares by mastering his fears, and the World Government and the Marines would have their hands full. Now this would be interesting to see and watch; Lelouch being already on the loose with the Terror-Terror Fruit, the Five Elders would throw a fit if another Devil Fruit from the blacklist were to be eaten by someone they hadn't captured yet, so the best and safest solution for the New World navigator would be to remain unknown and refrain from using his powers too much. And if he did, he just had to kill his victims so they wouldn't be able to tell a single thing. After all, dead men tell no tales.

Nevertheless, he and Saber shouldn't dilly-dally if someone was after him, so all Lelouch had to do was get his hybrid friend and they would be on their way to Alabasta once the marksman had absorbed enough cold to last for months. And if there was gold, then the monkey would just have to be knocked out so he could dragged to the ship and they would leave – that is, if Lelouch was able to get him out of that damn circus he had seen earlier through his Haki. He knew that they would have to experience some bits of wanderlust in Paradise, but that didn't mean they had to spend time in a circus. Why would there be freaks on this winter island? As if there weren't enough crackheads and monsters in the Grand Line!

Lifting his eyes from the papers, he noticed Euphemia's ghost not far away in front of him, looking ahead with an awed look in her beautiful eyes. "This environment is absolutely stunning!" she gushed happily. "And I remember you saying that islands in the Grand Line have their own climate, shame we didn't have that back home." The last words were said with a hint of sadness, which indicated that she missed her previous life.

Lelouch kept walking until he went past her, answering after a brief moment. "Yeah, that's one of its bonuses. It's actually fascinating, really." Then he stopped, put the files back in his backpack and closed his eyes as he expanded his Haki to get another close look around the area and towards the damn circus.

 _First, there were all those loud voices and the noises around Lelouch had to isolate one by one, because they made him cringe in serious distate. Then, the colours. All those flashy, damn colours that reminded him of freaks some children liked. Though they were an eyesore, he had to keep looking – Saber's Haki could be sensed around those mad crackheads and scarecrows, so the idiot had to be somewhere around them. Lelouch could see, among a crowd of civilians going to see those madmen perform, some children wearing excited expressions as they squealed happily about watching acrobates, clowns and other shit only freaks were known to perform. He briefly caught sight of three identical triplets hanging on the side, whose blue, emotionless eyes surveyed the crowd – their posture might not seem harmless but, to Lelouch's trained eye, there was a barely noticeable stiffness in their limbs that suggested a certain uneasiness._

 _And there was also something strange about those three Lelouch would have to be careful of._

 _There was a gigantic town behind the circus, where he could hear thousands and thousands of voices with his Haki; modern and so aristocratic-like, it somehow reminded the navigator of his previous life back at Pendragon and the Aries Villa before all hell broke loose with Marianne's 'murder'. The clothes the inhabitants wore were luxurious and expensive, the words they employed gave away their education and the superior expressions they displayed on their faces screamed 'noble' and 'blue blood'. This had become the kind of society Lelouch had come to loathe during his time as a Britannian student in Area Eleven, disowned and cast out of the Imperial fold with his crippled sister. Looking at them would have made him feel bitter and contemptuous, but he had better things to do on this island – like looking for a damn hybrid who must have sensed some gold by now since they were in a rich town!_

Lelouch growled in frustration, opening his eyes in a glare. Saber was nowhere to be seen, nowhere to be sensed with all those people swarming into this city and the damn circus. The hybrid really was going to make him go look into that freakshow and that blasted aristocratic city, wasn't he? He would actually have to mingle into the crowd, get into the city and wander into the streets just to find his marksman friend so they could resume their journey after the latter was done absorbing cold air into the tuft on his tail. _Fine_ , the navigator huffed as he sighed, getting ready. _Just hope that I won't end up cutting_ _off_ _your damn tail, Sabertooth._

Euphemia having disappeared while he was concentrating on searching his friend, Lelouch didn't waste time on advancing toward the city: jumping in the air by using the _Geppou_ , he soared through the cold air and the snow like a bullet toward the bustling city, the whistling wind ruffling his hair. One day, he'd have to thank both Sphinx and Vergo for teaching him the Six Powers of the _Rokushiki_ technique – because it really did come in handy when he had to cover long distances. Flying in the air was awesome!

* * *

"Hey, old man!" Saber called to the merchant, an ecstatic grin on his face and his green eyes twinkling in excitement. He pointed to the shotguns exposed in the galleries. "Where did you find the elements to build such beauties? I could only find decent rifles and shotguns of this quality back home."

The old merchant (who didn't really look that old because of his healthy, muscled body) laughed heartily. "Hahahaha, this is one of the many secrets I won't tell the world, monkey boy! But since you've got an eye for guns, why don't you stay after I close the shop? My wife got the kids for the night, so I feel like hanging around for a little bit before heading home."

The hybrid nodded eagerly, turning back toward the sniper rifle he'd been examining for some minutes. This one was a real beauty, certainly from the very recent versions of sniper rifles and though Saber wouldn't need the lunette to shoot down from a very far distance because of his keen eyesight, he'd rather keep it and use it as a last resort weapon to stab those who would dare to approach him. Being competent in using guns may be useful to him, but practicing the martial arts of his home – and learning how to use Haki – helped him so much back when he had to challenge the elders of his village for his training (Saber would have loved to take on the Guardians of the Mink Tribe from Zou, but tracking down Zunisha was near impossible as the massive elephant was constantly moving so that it wouldn't be found easily. Unless someone he knew could be located on top of the mighty behemoth and had his Vivre Card on, the marksman wouldn't be able to find his sister tribe.), so that was a plus.

He also remembered the reasons that made him want to become someone for himself; having siblings that looked so much like him made him feel like he couldn't stand out and, since nobody in his family had taken the liberty of learning Wing Chun combined with swordsmanship and guns, Sabertooth just needed something to make him look like the odd one.

The solution came by the name of Canterbury Lelouch. And with him came a lot of new adventures and opportunities that could only happen once in a lifetime, combined by the 'presence' he could feel around his new friend eleven years ago – was it some kind of manifestation of the famed Conqueror's Haki he had heard about? His father once mentioned it to one of his friends, saying that anyone who mastered the Conqueror's Haki was worthy of being king. King of what, Saber wouldn't know, but Lelouch had 'something' akin to it: he already mastered both Observation and Armament Haki, so it wouldn't be surprising if he were to actually display the very same 'presence' the late Gold Roger, the Emperors Red-Hair Shanks, Edward Newgate 'Whitebeard', Kaidou and Charlotte Linlin 'Big Mom' and all those big shots from the New World were known to have.

Saber looked down at his hand, tightened it into a fist and concentrated. The familiar tingling feeling of his Armament Haki shot through him and he watched with fascination as his arm turned black, reinforced by the mighty power he had worked hard to improve and learn to control. When his bullets weren't hard enough to do more damages than he expected, taking them out of the cylinder and throwing them himself after coating them with Haki had proved to be a lot deadlier than just firing – his aim being perfect, it wasn't hard for him to hit his targets. But with Lelouch being his partner and friend, Saber felt like he had to grow stronger and stronger to protect him mainly because of the issue with his Devil Fruit (and also because the hybrid couldn't lose that walking disaster to pirates or the World Government, he was too precious for that.); if his friend's theories proved to be correct, then someone from one of the Cipher Pol branches must be looking for him to confirm that he was the wielder of the Terror-Terror Fruit. Therefore, Lelouch was in danger of being caught, thrown into Impel Down or... or something else. There couldn't be a blacklist of Devil Fruits for nothing, there had to be a reason for it. Saber bit his lip, his brow furrowing. Once they find out that he truly had eaten that terrible fruit, Vergo wouldn't be able to protect him anymore and his cover would be blown...

 _Damn it_. Well, they'll just have to take off if this was going to happen one day, because there was no fucking way Saber would let anyone he didn't trust take his friend from him. Over his dead body.

Sensing the old man approach from behind, Saber turned to look at his smiling face. "Why the long face, monkey boy?" he laughed, clapping a hand on Saber's back and making the hybrid choke. "I thought you'd be having a blast with the rifle by now!"

The half monkey had to cough several seconds before replying, sweatdropping. "Too busy with my thoughts. But I've got questions about that circus in town."

"...I'm listening," the old man said darkly, taking the sniper rifle from the shelf to clean it.

Saber suddenly frowned at the tone used, though he followed him inside his workshop. It went from cheerful to somber in a matter of seconds after he mentioned the circus – was there something he should know about the freakshow? If so, then that would definitely make things more interesting on this island before they got back onboard and en route to Alabasta right away. He had absorbed more than enough cold in his tuft to last months without having to stop by another winter island, so he was good.

His green eyes focused on the wrinkled face, whose happy expression had gone downcast, and he blinked in curiosity. "That circus looked pretty strange when I got near it," he said uncertainly, folding his arms. "I mean, I don't mind entertainment cities because there's so much fun to enjoy...but there's something I don't like about this freakshow." His eyes glanced on his right, looking at the tools in the workshop. "Maybe you could enlighten me, sir?"

"You're damn right not to trust those freaks, who would anyway? Well, I don't know much about them since I never went near, and I would have to be half mad to let my sons go watch their shows. But ever since they came on Quasar four months ago and settled at the entrance of Coral Village, everyone seems overjoyed and interested in seeing them in action."

"But not you?" Saber asked, raising a questioning brow.

The merchant turned back to look at the hybrid with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Weren't you listening? I said I would have to be half mad to allow my sons to see those damn freaks, which will never happen! Over my cold, dead body!"

 _Don't give them ideas_ , the marksman mentally chided as he watched the old merchant dismantle the sniper rifle with expertise to clean it up. They were silent for a few minutes before he decided to continue. "At first, they weren't very well welcome here because all aristocrats shared the same mindset about them: _"What are they doing here? What business does trash like them have in our village?"_. I may have shared the same thoughts for awhile, I admit it, but only because my guts are screaming at me not to go anywhere near them; they have a strange aura I can't drive myself to trust and there's something creepy about their personality." He scowled, never pausing in his work. "Their leader himself is creepy."

"Oh?"

"Yes, their leader. Blacken Felicio or whatever the hell he calls himself. You'd recognize him easily because of the so-called 'easygoing' personality he displays in front of his audience, he doesn't want anyone to dismiss him so easily as if he were trash – judging by the way he dresses everyday, I'd say he's an attention-seeker that wants all eyes on him all the time. And he's been getting what he wanted for those four months he's been here, so I'm pretty sure the bastard must be happy with that."

The fact that the clowns had been here for such a long time had already surprised Saber, but not even more than the fact that they were still popular. Four months? And they were still on the same island? If there was anything he should know about circuses, it was that they always moved from island to island after some time just to perform and elicit someone else's delight in watching them. Why were they still on Quasar after such a long period? After awhile, everyone must have seen all their tricks and gotten bored of them. The hybrid frowned in genuine confusion, his long tail swishing from side to side and thinking back of the triplets he had seen before dismissing the circus; those three had left an eerie impression on him that made Saber's Haki flare in alarm, which was enough as a warning not to trust those weirdos.

" _He doesn't want anyone to dismiss him so easily as if he were trash."_

Ah, but wasn't it the goal of every weirdo to get attention from someone belonging to the high society? Aristocrats were sometimes hard to please, so it was a complete mystery as to how they were able to maintain their interest for so long. Saber didn't really care about what could possibly happen to those blue bloods, but he sure did care about what could happen to Lelouch if he the navigator was looking for him right now: he might have chosen to investigate near the circus just to avoid the city and its suffocating atmosphere. The hybrid face-palmed as he considered that idea, since it certainly what Lelouch might be doing. He wasn't the one in danger right now – those freaks were!

He turned toward the old merchant, looking at the sniper rifle with a large grin and twinkling eyes. "Sir? Would it be possible for me to borrow your rifle for something? It has something to do with a friend of mine who is looking for me and would probably turn that circus into a bloody nightmare if I don't get there in time."

* * *

"And where do you come from, young man?" a beautiful blonde woman asked Lelouch as they settled down on benches side by side. She even went as far as caressing his cheek. "You have such handsome features like I have never seen on anyone else, even my own husband and children. It almost makes you... princely."

 _Hell._ _You're so going to pay for this, Saber_. "I hail from the Desert kingdom, Alabasta," Lelouch replied smoothly, crossing his arms against his torso and one leg on the other one. He looked ahead, not even glancing at the wolves that seemed, despite being in a relationship or not, eager to get as much information out of him as possible.

"Alabasta? Such faraway country... you're lucky to have made it out alive before things could get serious, I heard that something bad is going to happen," another said on his right, craning her head to look at his mismatched eyes with a searching look. "I'd avoid going there for awhile until the Marines sort things out and manage to control the situation."

Would you look at that, they even had their own gossip sect. That was hardly surprising. While Lelouch knew that there wasn't any secret that wasn't known to Charles zi Britannia when the bastard was still alive and reigning, dark gossips and secrets must have been shared between noble women of the court and the Emperor's consorts – he wouldn't be surprised if some jealous imbeciles had silently plotted to have Marianne killed. So even gossips among aristocrats in the Grand Line were a common thing... fine, if he could dig up some information from women, that would be good. They always were willing to talk after some persuasion, so using his looks was in order for now.

He turned his eyes toward the one on his right and smiled pleasantly, making her blush instantly. She was a pretty good-looking woman with long, curly grey tresses that reached her waist, deep blue eyes and full lips. Her gown was luxurious and white as snow, somehow making her look like an angel begging to be besmirched. She also had her winter attire to compliment her looks. She sure looked lovely like this.

"Oh, is that so?" Lelouch inquired 'innocently' as he took her hand in his. He smiled down at her flushed face, igoring the other woman who huffed. "Perhaps we should discuss this matter after being entertained, don't you think? I just arrived in town today and I don't know where we could get warm and get to know each other... do you?"

She gasped. "Y-you mean... like a date?" She sounded hopeful (Damn it, that was something Baby 5 wouldn't approve of.).

Lelouch nodded, still smiling. "Only if you allow me to take you on one." He braced himself for whatever may come at him afterward when he kissed her hand lightly. But then, as if remembering something, he adopted a 'worried' expression. "You don't have another man in your life, do you, miss...?"

"Margaret!" she exclaimed happily, smiling sweetly. "My name is Margaret!"

"Glad to know the name of such a beautiful woman," Lelouch said as he returned the smile. "I'm Lelouch. I hope we'll get the chance to know each other a little more after the show."

"Definitely," Margaret sighed dreamily as she wrapped her arms around his own and leaned on him.

 _And you'll definitely pay for this as well, monkey man_ , he mentally raged with slightly twitching features and a slightly feral smirk as he turned his attention back to whatever was in front of them. A man wearing a black and red top hat on his red hair, sporting a dark costume with white tie and gloves, stepped onto the stage with a large grin on his pale face. He appeared to be on his early thirties, but there was a nasty gleam in his green eyes that made Lelouch's Haki flare instantly. Whatever that might be, it set the New World navigator on edge and made him frown in distrust. And this smile... it reeked of ill intent and dark mischief.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, welcome to yet another show of the Blacken Serenade Circus!" he shouted loudly while spreading his arms wide and making Lelouch cringe and scowl in instant distaste at the sound of his voice. All at once, the crowd settled down to watch the charade with smiles on their faces. "For those who are newcomers, my name is Blacken Felicio and I'm here to give you one of the best entertainments of your life with all my friends."

Lelouch snorted to himself, but paid no mind to Margaret as she lightly nudged him to silence him. As Blacken Felicio turned, two women dressed as acrobates appeared out of nowhere, doing somersaults and flips before landing gracefully on each side of the master of the show, glowing and smiling sweetly at the audience, who clapped eagerly and cheered. Lelouch noticed that they were twins, judging by their identical looks – brown eyes, violet hair, the same cute face. And the flirty winks they sent his way when they made out his brilliant, mismatched eyes surely irritated Margaret, who snuggled possessively to his side (Hell, he must have done too much by flirting with her and manipulating the poor woman to go on a date with him. Canterbury Lelouch doesn't do dates, and not even Vergo wasn't going to change that. That shit wasn't for him, but if he wanted informations about what was going on in Alabasta...and if the bitch was lying about that just to get besmirched by him, she was in for one hell of a ride.).

"So, ladies and gentlemen..." Felicio's smile was absolutely _sickening_ to Lelouch's eyes, and his eyes were also glowing. "Are we ready to dance?"

 _Bring it_ , Lelouch challenged in his mind, his own eyes gleaming as well.


	4. Circus Freak Rides

**Author's Note 1:** Hey, guys! Sorry for the delay, college life just started back once again for me and I must concentrate on that to survive the year. But I'll find time to update... Huh, also: I might take requests for omakes so, if you got ideas and want me to write them for you... let me know!

 **Author's Note 2:** ...I might need a Beta. Yeah, I need one. So, who's up for it?

* * *

 **Chapter Four:** Circus Freak Rides

* * *

Eren, the first mate of the Freesia Pirates and actually bristling with rage due to Lelouch's nerve to try his tricks on his captain, angrily kicked the trunk of a tree, cracking its robust bark and making some snow fall around him. "Goddamn son of a _bitch_ , I should have executed him the second he had Wen's throat in his hand!" he roared, uncaring if he attracted some attention.

While Eren may think that he was, at the very least, able to keep up with the mismatched-eyed freak, his crewmates thought the contrary and furiously disagreed – their dismayed and terrified looks were proof of that fact. Canterbury Lelouch was hiding a monstruous strength behind his cold behaviour, they could feel it pulse around him, and that always seemed to drain their energy dry whenever the man sounded close to biting their heads off. That aura couldn't be mistaken and some of those pirates, who had heard of it, were sure it was Haki.

Even Ferret looked shaken, having gone pale. "Have you lost your damn, smashed mind?!" he shouted, eyes wide and disbelieving. "There's no way, _no effing_ , _fucking way_ you could ever win against Lelouch! Let alone Saber, because he'd have your head before you even can unsheathe your sword!"

"Why are you calling them by their names, Ferret?" Eren countered harshly, turning his enraged and burning eyes toward the navigator. "That's new, I never knew you three were that close. Oh, you've become their friend behind our backs, now? Should we consider you a traitor to our crew?"

" _What_? For God's sake, are you listening to yourself?" The navigator was incredulous. But that bemused expression soon turned to indignation as he bared his teeth. "I'm trying to keep us alive because your damn stupidity will certainly get us killed before we can even reach Alabasta, and what do you do? You let your fear run your mouth and mind, you can't even think straight because of that! And that's how Lelouch will maim you if you don't pay attention!"

One of the good qualities Ferret possessed as a navigator was his sense of observation, and that had saved him and his crew more than once; when Lelouch and Saber first fought them – and won so damn easily – to hijack their ship, he hadn't been able to witness them on the battlefield because they were so _fast_ and _strong_. They had moved with so much quickness and grace that they had been blurs in front of his eyes, and before he could hope to cut the cheek of the leader of their ridiculously small team, Ferret had received four _Shigans_ in his limbs and had also been incapacited to the point he couldn't even move a finger. The glinting in Lelouch's mismatched eyes, his gloved fingers coated with his blood and his mocking smirk were all he could remember before passing out. He didn't know _exactly_ what he had done to him, but both his legs and arms were heavy and limp, as if he had blocked something.

And all this without breaking a sweat and even using the Devil Fruit abilities the pirates now knew he possessed. The navigator rubbed his arms with a cold shiver up his spine, suddenly remembering the pain and feeling it – that hadn't been really pleasant. They hadn't stood a single chance against the two of them, despite outnumbering their 'guests' back then. That had scared Ferret as much as his captain was now scared shitless of Lelouch; someone who had completely mastered the superhuman and insane _Rokushiki_ style, used by the Cipher Pol branches of the World Government and some Marine Vice-Admirals, would be one hell of an opponent to defeat. And Ferret was anything but insanely suicidal.

The navigator swallowed heavily, still ashen. "Do you remember _how_ and _why_ we've been defeated in the New World, Eren?" he asked firmly. He bore his eyes into Eren's, challenging him. The first mate visibly flinched at the memory, but remained silent. "Sure you do, because you were the one who grabbed our captain from the man who was about to kill him and actually shouted at us to run away. I've never seen so much fear on your face before, it was so... frightening. You, our first mate, were scared shitless and powerless against someone stronger than we were. Unprepared as we were, we should have been eaten alive the first second we've surfaced in the New World, but now I think we've just been lucky." He snarled hatefully, eyes glinting in a furious way. " _Hell_ , maybe we've just been lucky all this time ever since we decided to sail the Grand Line for dreams that might not come true one day."

"Are you telling me you don't believe we can't find the One Piece anymore? That you don't believe in our captain anymore?" Eren shouted, eyes ablaze.

"Then _why_ _did_ _we run away like damn cowards_?!" Ferret shouted back, now truthfully furious and frustrated.

His words echoed in the forest around him, effectively silencing anyone who had been fuming at his statement and cooling down whatever anger that was building slowly inside. Those words, while hurtful and yelled unkindly, still held the truth; they _had_ run away like cowards once they've been defeated. Period. And nothing they'd do will change that fact. The bemused expression on Eren's face stayed long enough for Ferret to take it out on him, so the navigator just pressed on.

"I kept my mouth shut ever since we reached Paradise, even when Lelouch and Saber hijacked our ship without so much as breaking a sweat because we lacked that determination we've had since the beginning of our journey together," he continued, looking down forlornly. "It seems like we've lost the will to fight back because we've been overwhelmed by fear."

He had to steel himself when Eren suddenly lunged forward and grabbed him by his collar, livid. "Don't you _ever_ use his words, not in front of me!" he spat angrily. "What does _he_ even know about us?!"

"He doesn't have to know, he can sense it so easily since we are scared little pussies and can't do anything about it!" the navigator retorted icily, glaring at the first mate. "Do we have an excuse for running away like that? _Yes_ , he took advantage of the situation because our fear must have attracted him and his monkey friend like a moth to a flame in the dark. _Yes_ , he and Saber also defeated us like we were newbies – which we were, by the way – and made us look like complete fools, not only because we were overwhelmed, but because we were just so damn stupid to rush into the New World unprepared and weak in the first place!"

Eren's dark eyes twitched, and a vein slowly appeared on his temple. "Then why didn't you tell us you were scared, Ferret? All you had to do was talk!"

"Because you didn't listen, bastard. And I wasn't the only one here," he countered softly, turning on his left to look at their crewmates. "They were scared too. When we were defeated by that Neo-Marine guy and his small fleet, we all thought that we were done for; I think we'd never thought that he could be beaten, that had never been a possibility to us all. But when it finally happened, it just dawned on me: we weren't cut out for this madness in the New World, not yet."

"What the hell are you talking –"

But Eren stopped short, watching. And he could do nothing else but watch as the fear in the eyes of his friends slowly unfolded itself. Their eyes were speaking for themselves, screaming the very emotion they'd been feeling all this time – and Eren hadn't seen it, wrapped into his own frustration and anger to notice that his friends needed his support as well. Maybe he just refused to see it, to admit that they were cowards for running away like that, but even he couldn't be in denial for much longer. And it had taken their shy navigator, Ferret, to bash some sense into his skull to finally understand that Eren himself was scared.

He was scared. And this wasn't good. If their captain was bound to break down and fall, their crew would soon follow him to their ruin; fear being a devastating emotion that could bring people – and even the world – to a tragic end, it could do so much damage that it could very likely make a whole crew crumble like a house of cards. Eren didn't want to admit it, but Lelouch did have a spot on: he just couldn't conceal his fear behind masks. Reality struck him hard into the gut as it dawned on him that he was on the verge of just giving up on his own dream and drink himself to death.

Eren clenched and unclenched his trembling hands, arms falling limp on his sides and failing to utter a word. What could he say anyway? He'd only focused on what his captain had been feeling all this time while ignoring his other friends, unwilling to listen to their distress, so all he could do was feeling guilty. And even that couldn't account for his dismissal toward his other crewmates, because he had only cared about the captain's mental state.

 _So does that mean that mismatched-eyed bastard is right all along?_ He mentally snarled, refusing to meet Ferret's eyes. Have they really been running away from the sheer fear of the New World after their defeat there and were they still traumatized by it? It had almost been a month, now that he was thinking about it; those Neo-Marine jerks had appeared on their sight, had fought and nearly destroyed them all without so much as trying hard. Although they decided not to annihilate their ship, Eren was sure it had been out of pity for them once they had a good look at their defeated captain.

"It might be too late to realize that we're probably not going to get back to normal anytime soon, but it doesn't hurt to try and work things out together," the navigator suggested softly, looking at everyone in the eye. He waited until he had all the attention on him to state his opinion. "We may have had our spirit broken by the crushing pressure and the sheer cruelty of the New World, but if we work things out together with the captain, I'm sure we can rise once again. Those bastards from the Neo-Marine... they were by far the toughest opponents we've ever had to face until today, combined with Lelouch and Saber when they hijacked our ship." His expression darkened and he clenched his fists, teeth gritted. "I'm not saying we should go back there and challenge them once again – this time, they'll make sure not to show any _pity_ and _mercy_ toward us, since they hate pirates to the core –, but maybe, maybe we could just wait until we get stronger."

One of ther sharpshooters blinked. "You mean... training before going back to Sabaody Archipelago?" he said slowly.

Ferret nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly what I'm suggesting. Have you all noticed the difference between Lelouch, Saber and us when we fought? How they avoided our attacks as if they could somehow predict them? I don't really know what it is, but those guys from the Neo-Marine could use it as well, and if they can, I'm fairly sure we can attain this power as well and gain the strength we need to survive in the New World. Because let's face it," he growled as his eyes unusually hardened, which surprised everyone, including Eren. "We're going to die one day, running out of luck and ressources. And there's this thought that hasn't left my mind ever since: why didn't Lelouch and Saber kill us? Why didn't those Neo-Marine sons of bitches kill us as well? Maybe because we just weren't worth the effort."

The last sentence may not have been said in contempt, but it still had its impact: everyone suddenly stiffened and looked greatly offended, Eren being the worst – his face, despite the harsh, cold wind blowing, flushed a furious shade of red. He even snarled, for he hadn't been ready to hear those words from Ferret's mouth.

"What did you just _say_?" he hissed, both stunned and nearly apoplectic with rage. "That we're not worth killing, even by the hand of this mismatched-eyed devil?!"

Ferret stared serenely at the first mate, silent, then glanced to the side with a tired sigh. "That's insulting, I know. But... wouldn't that be one of the few reasons they've got to have chosen to keep us alive and around when they clearly have the upper hand by being stronger than we are, even though we outnumber them? They could have easily sailed without us – Lelouch is a navigator, ten thousand times more skilled and experienced than I am, and could avoid the unpredictable storms of the Grand Line with his eyes closed if he wanted to. So, _why_ don't they just kill us while we're at our breaking point?"

Eren was on the verge of foaming at the mouth from so much rage and his breathing was already ragged, as if he'd been running all day long, and the others weren't faring so well either. The contorted expression on his face mirrored the violent feelings clashing in his head, to which the navigator couldn't help but feel sympathetic. And he should be enraged as well, for there couldn't be more insulting than being deemed as unworthy of something – such as being killed with your dignity intact when all your will seemed to have been wiped out by both a brutal defeat and beating. Captain Wen was a proud man who may have tried to bury his most secret fears under masks, but they weren't completely conquered; a single look into Lelouch's eyes had been able to break through all those veils and walls he had eriged around his mind to hide his nightmares, just a single look and he could reveal and see _everything_. Lelouch could have broken the pirate captain's mind with his illusions had he wanted to, and even his will. The fear they all had seen on his face after the mismatched-eyed man had left had clearly unsettled them... and they still were. It was like he had just seen the Devil himself roam free on their ship, in the shape of Canterbury Lelouch.

Ferret felt a cold shiver shake his spine, which had nothing to do with the bad weather.

Why hadn't they killed them already? Why didn't they just do that while they were emotionally defeated? Was it because they were now unworthy of being killed? Crushing their will was one thing, but refusing to grace them with a final blow to end the suffering was downright insulting: the Neo-Marine had destroyed the Freesia Pirates in the New World, shattering their hopes and dreams of finding the One Piece – some of their friends had died during the assault, and since they couldn't have given them a proper burial on land, they had kept their corpses until they could find a 'safe' island to bury them. It would have been more cruel to throw them overboard to have their bodies devoured by Sea Kings. The mercy those Neo-Marine bastards had shown them had been just as insulting as Lelouch and Saber were, letting them go with their ship intact had later made Ferret's blood boil. After making peace with his family and deciding to sail the Grand Line to help his captain achieve his dream, the navigator had sworn to make it possible, so he had trained hard to also become a sturdy fighter despite being not as strong as the first mate and Wen. But encountering Lelouch and Saber when they were about to dive back into the ocean to go through Fishmen Island had been the last straw to anyone left in the crew.

Why they had even bothered to fight back, Ferret didn't know, since it had been useless. Maybe he won't ever know if his captain still had that fire burning both in his heart and soul, because there was no certainty that the crew would still remain together after falling apart emotionally speaking.

"Honestly... I didn't know that waiting for death could be so nerve-wrecking. Especially by someone who could dig up our worst nightmares. I have no idea who the hell Lelouch is... but he's definitely _not_ normal."

* * *

Lelouch frowned at the two master acrobates who were performing in front of the excited audience, wondering what was so damn interesting in watching them. If he glanced around him, he would see the same expression on every person (woman, man, child...) – this enthralled look mixed with some strange glee, which was starting to irritate him. He had never been the type to admire or even like clowns and acrobates from circuses during his time on Earth, and the Grand Line wasn't going to change that – if one of those freaky clowns did so much as wave stupidly in front of him, smiling widely, Lelouch would break him in pieces. Not only were they all creepy to look at, but there was something really off about them. His Haki was alerting him from time to time whenever eyes were looking at him from somewhere.

And he already knew who it was. But Lelouch wasn't interested in him at the moment.

The two performers, one woman and a man by judging from their morphologies under those costumes, wore identical white masks with eerie black smiles that somehow matched with their outfits – the man looked like a 1960's American gangster (white tie, black shirt, sleeveless back jacket, black gloves and Fedora hat. Strange clothing choice from someone belonging to a circus...), while his female partner had donned a white, flowered-shaped dress with black heels. Original, actually not freak-like and even more likeable than the others. The grace and fluidity they were moving with looked almost ethereal – it was like they were one with the wind, almost moving like a leaf in the air. The figures they were performing were different than those back on Earth; there were no throwing knives at a living target, no dangerous acrobaties in the air that would result in having a broken neck when falling down hard on the ground and jumping from platform to another. They were just... _dancing_.

Lelouch didn't know what kind of dance it was, but the Enchanting Winds (whose stage names were Alizé and Windy. Ironic, if you ask Lelouch...) seemed to have enraptured the whole audience as they all watched with great interest and eager expressions; while he couldn't see their faces, the masks they had on could have fit in the performance if they didn't look so creepy. Their movements were fluid, as if they weren't stiff – it seemed natural to him. Vergo had once told Lelouch, during training back at the G-5 base in the New World, that Sphinx's insane teaching had done its deed on him: while his fighting styles didn't include dancing, it did include moving as a snake when attacking and contorting his body beyond understanding. Lelouch frowned slowly as he watched the duo on stage, unlocking his arm from Margaret's grasp and slightly leaning forward to have a better look. No, he knew that dance from somewhere – scratch what he was thinking, he definitely knew this kind of dance; something felt familiar in those movements they were both doing. Awfully familiar. And if he was right about this...

So he voiced his question at Blacken Felicio, glancing sharply at him on the side. "Where did they learn the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique?" he demanded coldly and out loud amid the music, his gaze firm and authoritative. "Surely some punks from a circus couldn't have come across an Alabastan fighting style book, picked up one of the forbidden techniques and learnt by pure luck. Have you stolen it?"

Since nobody around Lelouch bothered to turn toward him and shush him up, he instantly knew he was spot on: he had raised his voice, almost screaming to be heard, but no one had reacted. This couldn't be good: how did an Alabastan forbidden technique land in the hands of this freak? Lelouch scowled at the smug-looking leader of the circus, who let out a dark chuckle.

"Oh? What a pleasant surprise. So you're immune to the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique? I'm impressed," he purred wickedly at him. "You might be the first one to ever look so upset over finding out about the charade, shall I give a reward for that?"

"Please do. If it's a statue or something sturdy, that will do just fine: I'd love to break _every_ bone your body with it." The sarcastic reply, voiced in a drawl, was enough to make a vein pop on Felicio's temple, but the smirk was still present. So Lelouch opted for other answers. "I asked you a question, I want an answer: where the hell did your colleagues learn the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique? Do they even know it's a forbidden one?"

"A-ha-ha-ha!" the freak tsked, wagging his finger in front of him. His green eyes twinkled 'merrily' as they looked Lelouch up and down. "Such an unruly tongue for someone so good-looking and smart, I knew there was something very fascinating with you the moment I laid my eyes on your person." He ignored the navigator's disgusted sneer and descended the staircase, swinging his golden cane carelessly – he even knocked an older man over the head with it, who slumped forward, out cold. Felicio never seemed to notice as he casually strolled toward the stage, mismatched eyes following his every movement disdainfully. He appraised the still dancing duo with a wide smirk, nodding, then turned back toward Lelouch. "To be fair, I didn't expect anyone to recognize the hypnotic dance, let alone being completely immune to it, this is probably the most pleasant surprise I've ever had in a _long_ while."

"Spare me the exaggerated self-praise, you're only hurting yourself into this predicament," Lelouch hissed, narrowing his eyes at the dancing duo as he crossed his arms over his torso. "Who are they?"

"If I tell you about my fantastic Enchantic Winds," Felicio purred, his green eyes glinting wickedly in a sickening way. "will you let me play with you? You have such beautiful eyes and features that I wonder whose parent you look like the most. Was it your father? Or your mother? Oh, I bet she must be _ethereal_!"

There had been many times when the expert navigator had been really disgusted by men – and women, unfortunately – who had gushed about his features, and Lelouch had wanted to slap them because they made his skin crawl (it was as if he needed to take multiple baths to scrub some stubborn filth. It was disturbing.). And this man... this Blacken Felicio, or whatever the hell his real name was, was actually making his skin crawl for about an _entire minute_ ; he even had to maintain some self-control to prevent himself from jumping down and literally tearing the bastard apart with his bare hands – because really, the freak was asking for it. That, and the fact that he was casually wiggling around, making weird noises and 'happy' expressions like a goddamn wacko.

So he had to deal with a sicko. How mad and satisfying would it be for Lelouch to crack his skull just to get rid of him? Chances were high: that freak had stolen a forbidden Alabastan technique and was having two of his companions hypnotizing half of Coral Village – _hell_ , they must have the entire town in their grasp by now, with the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique making things just easier. They must have been doing this for a long time, even before Lelouch and Saber got here, because mastering the hypnosis techique required a great amount of concentration – thus, that creepy music in the background wasn't a very good idea and didn't match the slowness of the technique, although it would make sense for creeps from a freak show because that was their element –, amazing flexibility and a very good memory of the movements to perform them without hesitation. One second, just one, could disrupt everything and the hypnosis would fail. If performed and cast with success, it would hold for days until the spell needed to be cast once again. Lelouch had once been a victim of this treacherous technique when he turned nine and, while he couldn't really remember any of it, it apparently hadn't been a pleasant experience. Sphinx having complained about back problems, he had asked a very skilled belly dancer to perform it – which had proven to be a challenge to get her to accept, since she had looked absolutely terrified to do it and despite Sphinx promising that he wouldn't say a word, which could result in her execution, the belly dancer had a nasty breakdown before getting her wits together (due to Lelouch's painful bluntness.).

" _Let's not talk about what you did under this hypnosis," Sphinx had told gruffly, looking very annoyed. And Lelouch was still so sleepy; his purple eyes were barely open as he was struggling to stay awake, his hair completely dishevelled. "Instead, let's rather talk about the spell that put your mind in this trance: feeling woozy? Sleepy? Out of place? Well," the old man sighed, rubbing his eyes in a tired fashion. "your body is reacting to the after-effects of the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis, a very dangerous and well-advanced technique that can put anyone in a dreading trance in which you're not even conscious of your own actions –"_

" _Sphinx, I know I'm exhausted but my brain can still register_ and _understand what the hell hypnosis is," Lelouch deadpanned flatly with a faint glare, his eyes half-open. He barely suppressed a yawn, tilting his head and ignoring his master's exasperated huff. So not a 'morning person', even after what that belly dancer made him do. "So... what is it about the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis I need to be careful of?"_

 _The old pirate stared pointedly at him. "Do you know why it's forbidden, Lelouch? While under that trance, you are absolutely unaware of everything you could do – you could bomb a whole town for all you care or murder someone, so whether you're placed under hypnosis or not, you'd still be found guilty. It's a very dangerous technique that could potentially bring chaos in the world and, if the user is smart, unbalance everything. Having heard of that Alabastan technique, the World Government decided to send Cipher Pol agents to eradicate_ every person _who's learnt that dreadful technique in the country. It did some pretty bad damages to the relationship between the Nefertari family and the organization, considering the fact that they did this massacre without Cobra's consent."_

 _Lelouch, now wide awake and having shrugged off the need to sleep, gritted his teeth in anger. "How... how many?"_

 _Sphinx closed his eyes in grim acceptance, lowering his head. When he listenend to Cobra telling that story the other day, he hadn't known of the force of the impact it had on him. And now, his friend's eyes were fierce and determined to see and watch the country change for the better, despite being the target of many gamblers – such as hardened pirates who could cook up a diabolical plan. Nefertari Cobra and his daughter Vivi, albeit being way too kind for his taste, would definitely make Alabasta proud once again._

" _Way too many."_

Lelouch's gloved hand suddenly shot up and blurred in front of him, effectively and effortlessly catching the four knives that surely would have killed him had he not sensed the danger. Clutching the weapons between his fingers, his eyes opened slowly to glare at the culprit who, sure enough, was smirking up innocently at him with a twinkling gaze.

"You were dozing off," Felicio stated flatly, despite his 'innocent' grin. "I didn't tell you, but I _absolutely abhor_ when people don't pay attention to me. You might want to take notes in case of further acquaintances between us."

 _I would have long buried you before that._ "Oh, did I offend you? My sincerest apologies, then," Lelouch drawled sarcastically with a mocking smirk, gathering the knives in his hand and standing up. He looked down at Felicio, mismatched eyes burning. "I wasn't aware that your ego had to be polished almost every minute you get to spend around your audience. That's a bit sad."

The navigator sensed the intention with his Haki long before he could hear the hiss in the wind, so he began to descend the steps casually, blocking the blade that was aimed at his face with one of the knives he was holding. It clattered noisely on the wooden floor. Lelouch's eyes never left Felicio's, though he wasn't the one throwing blades at him; he could feel the astonishment from both dancers, who had finished with the last movements of the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis – especially the female one, whose unseen eyes must be narrowed in frustration behind her creepy mask. And to her stupefaction, her target didn't do much as blink or flinch. And the way he had blocked and caught her knives without so much as glancing her way greatly unsettled the female dancer, so she just continued throwing knives. And he kept blocking, still coming down onto the stage – he didn't even glance toward one woman when she cried out in pain, one of Alizé's blades having grazed her cheek. Not even when another stabbed a man in his throat, leaving him to bleed to death in a matter of seconds. The gurgling sound he made was a bit disturbing, and Windy and Alizé barely managed to keep their emotions in check behind those masks (they'll have to thank Felicio later for these precious masks, for they were coming in handy now. Especially in front of that man.). But Lelouch? He didn't waver, he never tripped or looked guiltily.

 _How?_ was her thought as she gaped at the stranger, whose mismatched eyes had never left their leader's. Felicio's smirk had faded a little bit, replaced by a distraught frown that looked so weird and unusual on his face. Though he didn't back away when Lelouch's feet finally touched the ground made of steel, his gaze wasn't showing this malicious glint she and Windy had always been familiar with. No, it was a very different emotion they had never seen on him. And his skin had taken such a paler colour...

"Poor, poor Felicio," Lelouch cooed with an infuriating – and creepy – smile, which immediately set everyone on stage on edge. He stopped advancing, leaving some space between them, and gazed at the three of them. "Resorting to hypnotize people to get attention, that's low. What happened during your childhood? Didn't your parents give the love you yearned so you wouldn't resort to forbidden techniques that would likely get you killed? What a shame."

"I'd be pretty careful of what you're saying, _freak_!" Windy suddenly hissed, his words a little bit muffled by the mask he was wearing.

He lunged at Lelouch with a cry of anger, aiming for his head with a rounded kick – which the mismatched-eyed man easily blocked with his own kick, but then he did something strange: his right leg snaked itself around Windy's left one, forcibly brought it down by force, thus also bringing her surprised partner down close to the ground and, with a swiftness Alizé could only gape at, hit several spots with his fists on Windy down from his leg to his left arm right after dropping the knives.

"Damn it!" the dancer swore pantingly as he staggered backwards, struggling to not fall on the floor. The spots hit ached slightly, which was actually more annoying than painful. Snarling behind his mask, he glared hatefully at a smirking Lelouch, who brought his leg back down. " _You son of a_ – what the heck?"

Alizé snapped out of her bewilderment and gathered Windy by her side, tugging on his arm. "What? What's wrong?" she inquired hurriedly, looking at him.

"I-I can't move my arm and leg...," he said slowly, as if he couldn't believe it. He tried tensing the muscles in the neutralized limbs, but found out in horror that they were rendered completely numb. Nothing reacted. Then he shook his head, now feeling real panic for the first time. " _I can't move my arm and leg_!" he repeated, practically shouting in alarm. He snapped his head at Lelouch, incensed. "What the hell did –"

Windy interrupted himself all of a sudden, seeing an upside down leg inches away from hitting his face – which promptly caused his eyes to widen behind his mask – and, as expected, he wasn't fast enough to evade the kick. It even seemed to go in slow motion to him; the heel of the boot collided _hard_ with his face, shattering the mask of porcelain as if it were just glass and actually breaking his nose in the process, and sent him to the nearest wall right behind him, where he brutally crashed in. Debris fell around him as smoke surrounded his body, and his painful groan could be heard through the racket. Alizé, dazed and frozen because of the very swift movement she hadn't been able to follow, blinked stupidly, her eyes widening in horror and face twitching.

 _Is this for real? Who the hell is this guy?_

Unfazed, Lelouch allowed his body to make a 360° angle to land back on his feet, just besides the female dancer. Turning toward her, he took in her dazed state and narrowed his eyes at her.

"If you allow yourself to be distracted, such as right now..." he started to say, sounding nonchalant, before suddenly disappearing with a _Soru_.

He reappeared closer to Alizé, who was still frozen into shock, his face close to her left side and his fingers close to ripping her own mask off (or gouging her eyes, she couldn't tell). She wouldn't be able to tell how fast he was going, for he could just be a blur to her eyes.

"... _you'll die_ ," she heard him whisper in her ear, his silky and calm voice almost dull.

That promptly caused Alizé to snap out of her state, and she forced her body to listen to her as she attempted to punch Lelouch in the guts, but he blocked her easily by elbowing her forearm, then avoided her rounded kick by doing several back flips and she ran after him, grinding her teeth. Windy, who had been dizzy and trying to nurse his broken nose since he got kicked to the curb into the wall, now snarled hatefully and had to resist the urge to surge through the debris and lunge at the two figures fighting each other – or, in that case, one of them was actually playing, if the mocking smile on his lips was any indication. The mask now destroyed and useless, it was futile to hide his light amber eyes, cat-like features and red hair. So he just sat there, knowing that he'd just be a dead weight to his partner. Behind them, Blacken Felicio had managed to get it together and smiled darkly to himself, still panting a little. Now _that_ , albeit unexpected, was a beautiful turn of events! It was even better than having the whole town hypnotized to make his dream come true.

Spreading his arms wide, he gave a boisterous laugh. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" he exclaimed loudly, his green eyes bright with dark excitement. Then his voice got louder, if possible. "A duel between one of my strongest fighters – something even I couldn't have fathomed today! One against one, even though it looks like that our beautiful Alizé is actually struggling against our honored participant. Ladies and gentlemen, it would seem we will be hosting a very different show today! Are you entertained?"

Still hypnotized, the crowd gave a boisterous cheer that seemed to shake the entire establishment. Felicio looked around him, seeing all the smiles and excited glints he loved to see, and that made him giggle in barely contained glee. And the night had only just begun...

He walked back toward his special seat on top of some kind of podium, and sat down on his 'throne' with a satisfied laugh. "Ah, I'm so happy to hear that. To make you even happier, let's invite the Cosmos brothers to make this show more nerve-wrecking for our honored participant."

As soon as the words left his mouth, three familiar and identical men shot up out of nowhere and rushed toward the three fighters. Lelouch, who had mostly been evading blows and kicks, quickly glanced around to make a short calculation, then used a _Soru_ to evade a wild collision between every of his opponents. Grunts of pain and curses were heard as they piled up on top of one another, with the navigator reappearing on the side, staying on his toes and smirking. He raised a brow at the sight of the triplets.

"Ah, they're not bodyguards?" he mused, leaning back comfortably but never letting his guard down. "No matter. But what's your plan?" he shouted at Blacken Felicio. "By the looks of it, I'd say you've been abusing of the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique for quite some time, but what of it?"

"A-ha-ha-ha!" the freak said once again, wagging his finger with a smile. "Aren't your hands full enough with my subordinates as of right now? You have to beat your opponents first, gorgeous boy!"

Lelouch groaned, aggravated and annoyed, as he blocked another blow from one of the Cosmos triplets. "Who the hell is this guy? He's talking to me as if I was a child."

The man, who was trying to flip him off, smirked haughtily at him. "You think you can take on Master Felicio, kid? You sure seem arrogant for a freak," he growled provocatingly, his dark eyes glinting malevolently. "Don't cry if we break you in half and carry your corpse later on for a complete makeover, that'd be annoying."

 _Makeover_? What was he, a doll? These guys needed to get out of the freakshow. "Who wants to serve in a nightmarish circus that only frightens children to death?" Lelouch retorted as he evaded a low kick. Jumping in the air, he flipped forward, grabbed fistfuls of the blouse the first triplet was wearing to do a handstand on his shoulders. He glared down at the startled expression of his opponent, who was looking up with wide eyes and also struggling to keep his balance. "Plus, what would they gain by being hypnotized by this madman over here you call 'Master' what's his face? What would _you_ gain by doing this?"

Without waiting for a reply, Lelouch allowed his body to bend forward until he touched the ground and, with a grunt and grounding teeth, lifted the taller man...

"H-hey, wait..."

"HE'S ALL YOURS, MONKEY!" the genius shouted.

… and promptly flung him with a cry, surprising both the crowd and his opponents, who must be wondering why he yelled like that. There were hesitant and startled looks thrown at every corner as the two remaining Cosmos brothers rushed to stop their third twin's flight, eyes showing so many emotions Lelouch was certain they hadn't felt in a long time since they joined that damn circus.

He felt his mouth curl into a smile when he heard his friend's voice over the loud racket (how he could hear it, he wouldn't know. Saber just had good lungs.), even louder than that god-forsaken and creepy music.

" _TIME TO SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP, CLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWN_!" the monkey man hollered as he fell down from the sky and brutally slammed his (new?) sniper rifle into the stomach of the flying Cosmos brother, whose eyes rolled to the back of his head and blood flowed through his mouth from the force of the blow. That pinned him on the ground, a sizeable crater taking shape right under his body because of Saber's strength, and he just lay limp, out cold.

Instead of being stunned by this display of power, the crowd gave loud cheers and many of the aristocrats even stood up to applause to show their appreciation. Lelouch scowled, snorting at the attention they were getting from such society – how the hell could they even show some interest? This was no circus show, this was bound to turn into an all-out brawl (which was usually scorned at by nobles raised to be above scoundrels. He himself had to accept the idea that he had to learn how to really defend himself, so he could fend for himself while he wasn't with Vergo or stuck in Dressrossa. Or in the New World.). The chances to get someone killed 'by accident' were high, and Felicio wasn't making things easier.

Mismatched eyes narrowed in distate as he walked backwards until he bumped into Saber's back. "Where the hell have you been?" he demanded. "Do you have the slightest idea of the ordeal you put me through with those wolves?"

"And risk missing the hearthrob in action when he's got women tearing themselves apart just to get him? Cry me a river, Lelouch," the hybrid laughed heartily, his green orbs shining in mirth as he expertly maneuvered his sniper rifle until it was strapped on his back. "You just have to like it."

"No," came the flat answer, just as flat as his expression. "No, I don't. That doesn't even come to my mind."

"Oh, are you –"

"Shut. Up. I'm not and I certainly don't want to hear _that_ from a monkey who has no idea of how to tell the difference between a gun and a girl's nether regions."

" _BASTARD_!" an angry masculine voice roared ahead of them, and both friends looked back to see that the two other Cosmos brothers were practically breathing fire at them. "How dare you do this to our brother? Do you want to be terminated?"

Lelouch raised a brow at the word. "'Terminated', you say?" he repeated, slightly surprised. Then he smirked, walking round Saber until he could stand beside him, and got into a stance. "Can circus freaks really learn other language than their own slang? What else can you say that might surprise me even more?"

As he predicted, his words only served to anger the twins even more: veins protruded on their temples at the same time and they snarled hatefully at the two friends. "That's it!" the one right with the white coat exclaimed, readying himself. " _You will_ –"

Just as the two parties were about to lunge at each other, they all froze when they heard a small but almost deafening clap, as if they were all being applauded for having behaved as they had been asked to, and they all turned toward Felicio. The childish smile and expression he had on his face only served to make Lelouch even more aggravated, which showed as he narrowed his eyes dangerously at the freak.

"Bravo, bravo, bravo!" he clamored, immediately imitated by the ever 'cheerful' crowd. "Simply marvelous! Nobody was accidentally killed during the performance, which has always been bound to happen until now!"

While the five circus freaks remained calm, Lelouch suddenly felt spikes of fear poking his mind and he glanced at them, inquiring. _What was that_? It wasn't the first time he felt dread from his opponents with the Terror-Terror Fruit, since he finally got the hang of it; it usually felt like rippling waves over his body, gradually becoming stronger the more the person was terrorized, and not only did it make Lelouch's illusions more realistic than reality itself, but it made him so hungry at the same time.

But this dread he was feeling from the five performers...

It was more pronounced, more precise... as if they were fearing that he would reveal something they'd rather not talk about in public. But what the hell could it be? Lelouch had already figured out that they've been using a forbidden Alabastan technique that involved hypnosis – something the World Government would both approve (if it meant they could use it to their advantage) and disapprove –, so _what the hell_?

"M-master...," Windy croaked, slightly quaking with fear, which heavily contrasted with the strong surge of fury that had coursed through his veins. Saber looked at him and blinked, curious. "It's not something you should say in presence of strangers..."

Even his partner nodded. "I agree with Windy, sir," she said, her voice quivering a little. Once her partner was nearby, she threw his arm over her shoulder to help him, since his leg and arm were still numb and useless. Then she looked back up at Felicio. "This isn't something we should mention carelessly, we could be killed."

"Are you talking about the hypnosis?" Lelouch called out, scowling. "Then yes, I'll gladly behead you myself if that's what you're talking about. And judging by the inconsiderate length of time you've been doing this, I'd cut your head off twenty times over and over again if it were possible." He turned to fully face Windy and Alizé, his burning eyes staring long and hard. "Though judging by your reaction, I'd say that there's something else you don't want us to find out."

This time, he saw her flinch along with her fear reaching a new spike that really made Lelouch want to torture her just to make that Alizé spit everything she must have done – using the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis on people was already a crime punished by execution, what else could they have done to dread with such intensity? They couldn't have done... what he was thinking, could they?

But he didn't have time to demand for more answers, because Felicio spoke up once more, dragging the attention back on him. He looked thoroughly amused and smug – which was in complete contradiction with the mortified expressions of his subordinates.

"Alizé, beautiful Alizé. Always so wary of the consequences of your actions, aren't you?" he admonished softly, shaking his head and as if speaking to a child. He leaned down from his position, staring at the two performers with a strange look over his face. "But isn't it the motto of our Blacken Serenade Circus? Do you remember what I told you and Windy when I accepted to take you two under my wing? ' _Serenade_ _all you wish to_ _in my circus..._ '"

"' _...but all the sins you will commit shall forever tarnish you and you alone_.'," Windy and Alizé finished together, their voices somehow duller, as if they had just lost whatever will they still had. While they couldn't see the woman's face, both Lelouch and Saber could assume that she was mirrorring her partner, whose face betrayed his emotions. Alizé's voice had trembled, meaning that she was about to cry in anguish.

Bastard. Freak. Bitch. Every insult could suit him. Lelouch may not like those circus freaks, but even he didn't condone betrayal (that wasn't sympathy, absolutely not. He just felt like he needed to silence Felicio once and for all, to hell with the three other bastards who would want to prevent him from doing so.) and abandonment. That reminded him of a certain son of a bitch he had killed along with his witch of a wife all too well...

He even dared to laugh mockingly at his two dancers, balancing himself on his feet. "It's nothing personal, really. It was already the same with your predecessors, so don't think that I wouldn't have gotten rid of you should something –"

" _MASTER_!"

Alizé had finally cried out, ripping her mask off in the process so her face could be completely revealed. And Lelouch couldn't help but stare at her in surprise. There was also a gasp from Saber, whose green eyes must be bugging out of their sockets and jaw must be nearing the ground by now, but the navigator couldn't turn to see his expression. The woman before them was a female version of Windy – same red hair and cat-like features? So those two were related. Brother and sister, possibly twins – and, the most surprising thing about her, was her eyes; they weren't the same light amber colour like Windy's, as they should be. Those crying eyes couldn't see.

That woman was _blind_.

Lelouch could tell when someone was robbed of his eyesight; their movements would be slower, cautious. They would try to touch everything and hesitate so much because the environment could cause their death, anytime and anywhere. Those white eyes, he had seen them on those who were born blind, unable to see their beloved. Some were in pain because of that disadvantage, others seemed to see it as a blessing. But for his precious sister? Her blindness caused by Charles' Geass on had caused much more than just her disability. Lelouch could remember the tears she had shed, the fury that had coursed through his whole body when he realized, with painful reality, that he hadn't been able to do anything about it.

While Alizé's unseeing eyes were crying tears of betrayal and sorrow, he still couldn't understand how she _could_ see – because she clearly could: she was facing Felicio, staring at him in the eye as if she wasn't blind at all. And her movements, when they were fighting each other, were of someone who could see for real. Lelouch had to resist the urge to massage his temples, feeling a headache coming. This didn't make any sense at all. Was she wearing lenses? Was she faking her blindness... or was she really blind? That couldn't be some kind of fashion sense – he wasn't this stupid to even suggest it, because he wouldn't dare to buy that. Lelouch was sure she didn't know anything about Haki, so she couldn't be using it to fight and live her life as well – while she was completely blind, the Observation Haki could somehow be considered as another pair of all-seeing eyes. Which she didn't possess. _Then how the hell is she able to fight and move like this?_ Lelouch mentally growled, trying to overcome his surprise and growing frustration.

"Master, _why_?" she wailed, unable to control her sobs anymore. "Why? Haven't Noctis and I been any good to you? Haven't we served you well?"

This time, Felicio looked absolutely fed up with all her fuss. "Fall. All of you," he hissed, before he tapped the ground with his foot.

Apparently, he must have activated some mecanism when he hit the floor, for the ground beneath Lelouch's feet – and everyone with him on the stage – suddenly gave out and he started to fall backwards, eyes wide in surprise and disbelief. The shock of being tricked this easily was so sudden that his reflexes completely failed him, and that didn't even relieve him to see that his hybrid friend and the five other freaks were also falling to what seemed to be a deep oblivion under the circus (he briefly noted Windy's – _Noctis_ , if he was correct – look of betrayal before he could disappear from view. It was too genuine to be deception.).

" _Felicio_!" he roared, glaring at the rapidly disappearing ceiling. Lelouch couldn't use his _Geppou_ during a free fall such as this one, that just wouldn't work too well – and also because Saber would be alone before those five other circus freaks if he actually were to succeed in soaring back up.

Now that was a cheap dirty trick! Typical of clowns would use to deceive their audience and frighten young children, they should suffer decapitation for doing something like that. He should have known that this Blacken Felicio had an 'ace' up his sleeve, but not even Lelouch could have guessed that it would be an underground playground; how far down would they go? Not too far, he hoped. Because that would be a pain to get back up and slaughter the bastard for playing them all. He didn't have many options, and all of them weren't appealing so far. So Lelouch just ground his teeth in anger, waited and waited, waited and waited... until his body finally landed on something soft and, most of all, surprisingly _bouncy_.

The navigator bounced once more, this time landing on his stomach with a groan. He opened his eyes, blinked several times to adjust himself to his new whereabouts with a short surge of Haki around him, then slowly sat up. There were some lamps hung around the circular room, projecting a dim light, but that was enough for him to visualize where he was. The fall sure seemed very long to him, twenty seconds at best, but still managed to get him quite far underground, which was even more irritating. It was as if they had reached the bottom of the sea, if he were to guess. Lelouch was about to get up when screams edged closer and closer from above, and he looked up just in time to see Saber, Windy (Noctis), Alizé and the triplets fall in. But since his friend was about to crush him, he scrambled out of the way as fast as possible right before the hybrid could crash down on his body. The swordsman and the other freaks bounced on the balloon a few times before settling down, just as surprised as Lelouch was at the situation they were now all in.

Sitting back up, he looked over at his friend. "You okay over there, monkey?" he asked.

"Could be better," Saber growled, rolling over to his stomach. Then his green eyes opened, shining like bright emeralds in the semi-obscurity, and he looked over at the five people who fell down with them. "What I'd like to know is if there's a way out of this hellhole, because I sure don't like the idea of being underground. I might snap and start destroying things..."

Lelouch put a hand on his fluffy tail, squeezing it. "Let's ask the crying girl, then."

* * *

" _You didn't tell him? Why is that, Vergo?_ "

"He'll eventually figure it out once he's reached Alabasta, where your fellow comrade Crocodile is doing his business to drive the country into madness. While I'm pretty sure he'll be a tad indifferent toward the sorrow of the Desert Kingdom, there's the fact that he and Saber will probably run into the princess there. If my memory is correct, Lelouch met her once the year I was supposed to go get him, but she musn't have some good memory of him; according to my research, Nefertari Vivi is now sixteen years old, so she was only three when they met."

" _But there's a chance she could recognize him. Albeit his physical changes due to the time that has passed and his Devil Fruit powers, Lelouch hasn't really changed that much. Alright, let's say they do meet somewhere in Alabasta, what will she do? Ask him to help her fight against Crocodile? They couldn't have been friends during such a short period, especially if he left without telling the poor princess goodbye._ "

"He'll refuse. Alabasta isn't his birth country, so he won't even be interested in taking part of the rebellion or helping the princess to save her kingdom. Whatever Crocodile is cooking up wouldn't even bother him; he's just going there to see Sphinx..."

" _But you didn't tell him that he's dead now_."

There was a pregnant pause in Vergo's office, in which he had isolated himself after training with his new (shitty) recruits. The Vice-Admiral mulled over his friend's words before replying, his voice now a little duller.

"Like I said, Joker, he will find out on his own once he's there." he reached out to grab his sandwich, but couldn't get his hand on it. He frowned as he looked over, not even finding a plate on his desk. Strange. "He'll be shocked, that's for sure, and that won't take him much time before understanding that I was aware that Sphinx would die. I'll face his anger head on, and handle it the way I've always used when he's mad."

" _The only problem in your thinking: he would be in Alabasta, where the only thing that would calm him down is killing – since Crocodile's Baroque Works will be there, I'd say they will be the perfect preys for our heretic._ " Donquixote Doflamingo paused in his words for an entire minute, thinking of the millions of possibilities that could happen if Vergo's 'treasure' was bound to snap. " _We both know that Lelouch has a pretty good mastery of the Terror-Terror Fruit, but we are also aware that even he could fall to its influence and become unpredictable. The Devil Fruit you made him eat is a very nasty one, you know: not only is he immune to any kind of hypnosis because his mind is twisted_ _and sinister_ _enough to snap out of a trance, but it also can have control of every mind clouded in sheer fear. If he's not careful, there's a chance that he'll let himself be controlled by his own power, and you won't be able to do anything_. _No matter how strong and superior you are compared to him_ _for now_."

Vergo frowned even more, his grip on the baby Transponder Snail tightening a little. "I know that. And it's only a matter of time before the student surpasses his master, only then I will stop caring about his well-being. For now, I'll have to trust Saber to keep an eye on him. They've grown to become quite the duo after Lelouch insisted on taking the little monkey with us eleven years ago... now I can see for myself how they work together, it's almost incredible."

This time, Doflamingo smirked widely as he laughed. " _Looks like the hybrid from the sister tribe of the Minks has grown on you as well, Vergo. And here I thought nothing would faze you after all these years spent to wear a mask in the Marines. But_ _now_ _I see Sphinx was right about Lelouch: there_ is _something about him. If the Conqueror's Haki ever manifests in him... bring him to me_." He continued after the Transponder Snail mirrorred Vergo's surprised expression, still smirking. " _He's already mastered Armament and Observation Haki under our training, I can help him master the Conqueror's should it awaken when he's in Alabasta. And I'm fairly 48% sure that it will happen there, thanks to you_."

Of course. Lelouch may have denied it, but he'd been really attached to Sphinx during his three years spent with him in Alabasta. He'd been using the _Snake & Dance_ technique as a salute tribute to his first master in his training, finding a way to combine it with the _Rokushiki_ technique and the martial arts Vergo had taught him, and though he always remained focused, there was always a time when he'd meditate alone – the Vice-Admiral had suspected he must have been thinking about Sphinx. He never cried, never whined, so he'd been the perfect student to him. Saber, on the other hand, had been a handful before accepting Lelouch's master as his own when it came to learning Haki.

Yes, Doffy was right: there was a chance that Lelouch might snap in Alabasta and prey on Crocodile's minions just to cool down. Even a little.

Vergo sighed, nursing his temple. "He'll even destroy Law if the two ever meet again."

Doflamingo's laugh was boisterous as ever, meaning that the Warlord was in a very good mood. " _You have no idea!_ "

* * *

"... p-please!"

Gloved fingers slowly tightened around Alizé's throat, making her whimper in pain and squirm under the pressure. "I think you've long lost the right to plead, lady A-li-zé," Lelouch drawled, frowning down at her. "Ever since you and your brother here started using the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis on those aristocrats from Coral Village, and maybe on other islands, you just dug your own grave. If the World Government doesn't find you first, then someone who knows the law forbidding anyone practicing this technique will and I can assure you that your death will be more than _painful_."

"Wait!" Windy cried out, scrambling toward the man who was holding his dear sister captive. His amber eyes were wide, filled with tension. "Please don't kill Nasse! I'm not trying to excuse ourselves for the hypnosis, that's sorely our fault for choosing to do this, but we have to put this aside for the moment and get the hell out of this place!"

One of the Cosmos twin brothers (minus the one who was still unconscious) nodded vigorously at this statement. "Yes, this is what we should be focusing on right now! You two strangers can try to have our heads later!"

Saber, who was pressing his blade against the other hypnotist's throat to prevent him from going any further, looked confused at this. "Hey, what's with the –"

A loud, _very_ loud rumbling sound echoed in the room, effectively interrupting the white-haired hybrid. While it sounded a lot like an angry, growling animal that could have fallen down with them to the circus freaks, who seemed bemused, it happened to be familiar to Saber's pointed ears. He turned toward Lelouch, followed by the others, and stared at him incredulously.

"Really, Lelouch?" He couldn't believe it. "Who did you scare to be this hungry _right now_?"

The navigator had the decensy to blush, while still glaring at everyone. "Does it even matter? It's not like I'm going to be useless or anything, so don't complain!"

"It _does_ matter: you're the one who's gonna scarf down the equivalent of a three-days-meals, thus severely diminishing our stock of food on the ship, you damn humanized jack-o'-lantern!" the hybrid hissed, the hairs on his tail now spiky from irritation and his eyes flashing green. "You don't get to do that when there's that annoying consequence that will leave you berserk after scaring the shit out of your victim, so tone it down."

" _Why? I thought this was pretty funny_."

Both Lelouch and Saber glared harshly at the Cosmos brothers, irritated. "Who asked you, clones? Shut up!"

But the confusion that spread on their face was even more baffling, especially when they looked at each other, scared beyond their wits (and Lelouch had nothing to do with this.). "...that wasn't them, that was Orion," Windy whispered in a dull voice. When the navigator looked down on him, he quickly took note of the tensed expression and the twitching eyes. He could even sense a touch of fear from him, which immediately put his all his senses and Haki on alert... and when he found the source of his tension, Lelouch found himself at a loss for words. He even let go of Alizé (Nasse), who nursed her sore throat, breathing in and out. Then he turned, brows furrowed in confusion.

All at once, the lights were turned on around them, blinding everyone. Lelouch had to keep his mismatched eyes closed for several seconds, teeth gritting in annoyance, before slowly cracking them open once they were adjusted to the sudden light. Then, they slowly widened in disbelief because of the _thing_ that was springing up and down before them.

During his time on Earth as Lelouch Lamperouge, he had never taken an interest in jack-in-the-boxes because they seriously creeped him out. Who the hell could have been sick enough to hide a creepy-looking toy inside a box to scare the hell out of everybody? The odds of Nunnally having a heart attack on the spot after seeing it, had she not been blind for some years following Marianne's death, would have been high. And him? He'd rather not talk about it...but the thing in front of him was downright ugly and clown-like, which made Lelouch want to hurt something really. _Bad_. It was red, black and white, sporting a black top hat, a wide smirk, a red blouse and holding two gigantic swords in its wooden hands. The laughing sound it produced was even more creepy, making Alizé shiver as she huddled close behind the navigator – he could have snapped at her to back off, but his focus was entirely centralized on the giant jack-in-the-box, so he let this one slide for now.

'Orion' (which seemed to be its name, a baffling fact according to Lelouch) laughed once again, its red eyes taking in everyone in the room. " _Bing, bong, bang! Welcome, welcome, welcome to my universe, the Spade of Clown!_ " it declared loudly, slowly slashing the air with his massive swords. " _I assume that master Felicio brought you all down here for an All-Star Execution, is that right? Well, why don't we get started?_ "

Both Windy and Alizé tensed, their expressions fearful. "This is bad," she croaked, holding onto Lelouch's outfit for dear life. "Really, really bad."

Still at a loss at the appearance of their new common opponent, Lelouch couldn't help but facepalm, listening to the giant jack-in-the-box. He didn't sign for this when he entered the Blacken Felicio Circus. No, he didn't.

" _Bing, bong, bang! Let's play!_ "


	5. Ever Played With Dolls?

**Author's Note 1:** Why complain about filler chapters? They do have a purpose, don't they? C'mon, don't be disappointed because your authors write filler chapters.

 **Author's Note 2:** … you know what? I just thought of something really, really, twisted and cruel. Oh, and Happy New Year everyone, hoping that it will be better than the 2016 crapsack... let's hope!

* * *

 **Chapter Five:** Ever Played With Dolls?

* * *

" _Here's the problem with dolls:_

 _you think they're just pretty things_

 _when they're actually master sociopaths and psychopaths in disguise._

Don't play with dolls,

especially the beautiful ones. _"_

* * *

The agent looked at his Transponder Snail, thoughtful. Should he call Spandam just to listen to his annoying yelling when he'd be giving him his report on the situation he was in? That really wasn't an appealing idea. While he knew he should call his boss and fill him about the news he's just gotten from some fishermen back at Sabaody, he had a feeling it wasn't a wise idea; the incompetent chief of CP9 had a temper that would drive the most emotionless person crazy with his tantrums, and he doubted that even Rob Lucci wouldn't go as far as not dreaming of mauling his boss just to make him shut up.

Groaning in frustration, the agent just put his sleeping Transponder Snail back into his pocket and looked ahead of him, his eyes drifting off in the distance. Trailing Canterbury Lelouch and Quarin Sabertooth should have been an easy job for him, so he shouldn't be struggling this much; trusting Sicario to steal those precious informations about Spandam's target had been his mistake, and now that the bounty hunter was dead, he still wasn't sure if the assault had been conducted by this Lelouch himself or someone else. Vergo's protégés were proving to be harder to handle than he originally thought, especially if Spandam had plans for the brat – why would he want informations about him? He wasn't an official Marine soldier, nor was he even an agent of the World Government, but somehow interested their chief enough to send someone after him. Why not spill the beans so that everyone on this mission could understand their boss' keen interest in this stranger? That could be helpful.

Was Canterbury Lelouch set to become another recruit for CP9, just like that Nero guy? All possibilities had to be carefully considered to understand what was at stake here; Vice-Admiral Vergo's protégé was either ordered to become the new CP9 agent – although it still remained unknown if he had been properly trained to the insane _Rokushiki_ martial arts to integrate the assassination faction, but since Vergo was his mentor, the brat probably knew about three or four of the Six Powers – or it was just another of Spandam's whims. The guy was ambitious enough to burst his own ego, but being weaker than an average Marine soldier didn't do really well to polish his image, so it really was a wonder as to how he managed to boss the monsters of CP9 around and not get killed on the spot (just because Spandam was their chief didn't absolutely mean that they wouldn't try to kill him, should he do something purely _idiotic_ against them. Like, turning the World Government against their favorite assassins...). If Lelouch was to become another recruit, then he should have received a convocation from the World Government back at G-5 in the New World, where he should have been preparing to go to Mariejois and be tested.

But what was so damn special about Vergo's apprentice that he had to be hunted down outside the New World and brought to Enies Lobby? From what he's heard from Spandam, Canterbury Lelouch hadn't done anything wrong, wasn't of the same kind of Nico Robin or Dragon and wasn't even an enemy of the World Government. So what the actual hell was the deal with him? He'd last been sighted in Sabaody Archipelago and, if the agent was right about this, he was the one who took out Sicario and his goons with his friend.

 _Then he must have been sent by Vergo himself_ , the Cipher Pol agent thought, slapping a hand on his face. Really, he knew that risking his neck to steal documents from the Demon Bamboo himself would be a death sentence, but thinking that the mission could have been this easy had been such a dumb mistake of his – Sicario and his goons had been assaulted by Lelouch and his friend, most of them were dead (if not literally torn apart) and their boss was... huh, those informations had to be worth dying for in such gruesome way since that didn't end well for him either. Vergo hadn't really appreciated the theft, and if he were to discover that the chief of CP9 from the World Government itself was after his precious protégé, he'd downright be after Spandam's head. The agent had never met Vice-Admiral Vergo in the flesh, but he's heard things about him; if you looked past his apparent disgustingness when there was always food stuck on the side of his face, the man was insanely strong and ruthless. So it was even a wonder how his apprentice Canterbury Lelouch managed to stay alive all these years spent with him, training under his tutelage and everything – he might not be Garp the Hero, but still...

"We still haven't gotten any leads on Canterbury Lelouch's whereabouts, nor his friend's," someone said from behind, making Edward, the frustrated agent, turn his head to look at the newcomer. Another agent had come up, walking to stand beside him. "I didn't know Vice-Admiral Vergo's apprentice was this slippery, he's gonna be hard to catch. They're like eels, and you know how much I despise slippery preys."

"As long as the chase doesn't turn into an obsessive manhunt, I _think_ I'll be okay with it. Besides, Canterbury Lelouch isn't an extremely dangerous person who deserves a death sentence, otherwise Spandam would have sent the entire CP9 after him and his friend." Edward mulled it over for a few seconds, before frowning. "I don't know if this fellow is anything like the Devil's Child, but bringing him to Enies Lobby sure sounds... odd."

His companion snorted, rolling his eyes. "You know Spandam and his whims, you should be used to it by now. But I must agree with you on this one: he hasn't done anything wrong, he's not a filthy pirate, he's not blacklisted like Nico Robin and Dragon of the Revolutionary Army, so... what's the deal with him? He's nothing special, is he? I don't see why we have to get him to Enies Lobby. But here's a theory, though it's actually terrifying: what _if_ he turns out to be another Rob Lucci, huh? Let's say he's actually special, some kind of rare genius who must have mastered the Rokushiki style and excels in every technique, that would make this Lelouch guy an exceptional recruit that should belong in one of the Cipher Pol branches – not necessarily CP9, he could go to any of them if he's exceptionally gifted –, then it absolutely makes sense that Spandam wants him to work for him, right? This idiot is so ambitious and egoistical I'm actually amazed he hasn't been 'accidentally' killed by Lucci himself, but if I were him, I'd want Lelouch for myself before somebody else got to him." He shuddered, feeling sick to his stomach. "One Rob Lucci is already enough, but _two_? I'd cut myself right away because I don't want to wait for any of them to end my sorry life."

Edward pondered this for a moment, then another question arose from his doubts. "And what makes us think that he'd resign himself to come with us willingly? For all we know, he could decide to have our heads before we could even tell him that Spandam desires to see him. Couldn't we have asked Kumadori or Jabura to tag along, just to be sure that Lelouch wouldn't try to bite our heads off?"

"Are you possibly _mad_?" The other Cipher Pol agent looked and sounded incredulous as he looked at his partner, wide-eyed. "So the wolf-man can laugh at us for acting like complete sissies in front of a kid? Man up, Edward, we didn't pass the tests to become agents for nothing. As World Government agents, we represent the law all those lowly pirates always spit at because they won't submit to it, preaching that liberty they all worship. Even though he's Vice-Admiral Vergo's apprentice and protégé, Canterbury Lelouch is obligated to follow us to Enies Lobby to have a meeting with Spandam, and we better find him quick before the chief sends our asses to prison because we couldn't get him his damn prize. I don't want to spend the rest of my life screaming bloody murder at the Sphinx in Impel Down because it keeps spouting names of noodles all the time. My sanity is everything, I'll have you know."

Ah, Spandam's whims. These were as hilarious as annoying to everyone, not just the CP9; as the obnoxious bastard he was (probably a family trait, since his father Spandine was an even bigger bastard than his own son.), he was capable of pinning the blame of foiling whatever mission for the World Government on someone else, who really had nothing to do with the failure of said mission, and painting himself as the innocent one in the case. Edward wouldn't be surprised, but he was curious to know how Spandam would manage to get away with it – should Canterbury Lelouch be the target of such machination, there was a chance that the pink-haired bastard would be horribly executed after being hunted by Vergo's protégé. In a picture of him they've managed to capture, there was something in his visible eye that made it obvious that he was highly intelligent, but also a _very_ sinister glint that suggested a gruesome personality he had yet to reveal.

That could work with his CP9 position if he were to be enrolled. Whatever it was.

But first, they had to catch him. The mission over Impel Down for sure, Lelouch over a life-sentence in the most guarded prison in the world, where they wouldn't see the light of day ever again.

"All we have left is hope and pray that we find him," Edward eventually sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. He slightly frowned at his own words, confused. "...since when do we pray in the World Government? Man, I'm such a damn mess..."

Sometimes, being a tool of the World Government just didn't bring only pride and power to those who knew the price of burden. Ambitious fools like Spandam and Spandine wouldn't care because they weren't human enough to feel the weight on their shoulders, but those who still hadn't cast their conscience away to embrace the dark and gruesome side of their work still remembered the nightmares. They remembered the tiredness of everything, and sometimes they'd try to remind themselves why they'd chosen this path instead of something else, because that was a job that required a full detachment from humanity.

" _Dark Justice is still justice at the end of the day. Remember that."_

There were times when Edward would kick himself for enrolling into the World Government. While it was a life better suited to those who were willing to detach themselves from their own humanity and watch it burn, he couldn't believe that he hadn't been enjoying his position for the last twenty years; he had figured he would break before dying, which would have resulted in him suddenly waking up and mustering the courage to run away from that dreadful organisation. But fooling the Cipher Pol? For how long? Edward wasn't Nico Robin, Dragon or even that Canterbury Lelouch guy. He didn't have their intelligence, their skills to avoid being captured in a matter of days – the Devil's Child's whereabouts were still unknown, and the years had passed. For a small child to escape the deadly clutches of the World Government for twenty years and remain in the dark, that was a huge exploit. Edward would never say it out loud, but he praised the woman's brains (if she had managed to understand how to read the Poneglyphs at such a young age, then he couldn't imagine what she'd be able to do if she were to be captured. Her knowledge alone was no idle threat.). She truly had become a master at running away from a fate she didn't deserve.

And him? The tool of the most powerful organisation in the Grand Line?

" _Complete your mission, show them the meaning of Dark Justice."_

In a way, they weren't so different from the infamous 'Dogs of the World Government' – even called as such, the Seven Warlords of the Sea rarely obeyed the orders, but if something major had to come up, they would all come to defend their title to remain privileged. If even the most beautiful woman in the whole world herself had to obey the World Government to protect the legendary Amazon Lily, then Edward was a dog just as much as Boa Hancock was. A tool was a tool, and a dog was a dog; bark, and they'll bend their necks. But even he wouldn't go as far as risking his freedom for something trivial. No matter what, he'll bring Canterbury Lelouch to Spandam, and that would mark the end of his career. One last ride.

His features hardened, showing a determination now engraved in steel. The boy will be brought to Enies Lobby, willingly or by force.

 _One last ride_. He better put up a great fight before surrendering.

* * *

Suffice to say, the situation _looked_ bad. If Lelouch took note of the amount of fear he could sense from Noctis and Nasse, despite the former's sneer on his face to put up a good front, the twins would be a major burden: the 'blind' girl was frozen stiff behind him, clutching his outfit for dear life, and would likely never budge by herself. He'd have to make her move if she didn't want to die. The level of her fear was high, feeding Lelouch and pumping his nerves with adrenaline he was dying to release, to which he was flexing and unflexing his fingers repeatedly – he really shouldn't have used his powers to scare the shit out of Captain Wen and Saber was right: it was only a matter of minutes before he went berserk on everyone (his mind was already spinning with thousands and thousands of murderous and twisted ideas to kill the clown or serve the other freaks as baits, to which his mouth was slowly curling into a sinister smile he couldn't prevent – did he even _want_ to prevent the future execution of the jack-in-the-box that would make him smile in his situation?).

If he were to use whatever was still left of his right mind before losing his marbles, Lelouch would choose to protect Nasse from that damn jack-in-the-box, sacrifice the triplets – and maybe the brother as well, but something in his guts advised him against it – and let himself loose on the clown with his swords. His hunger couldn't fall at a better time: not just because they'd be silenced by a couple of freaks, but also because he and Saber were on tight schedule, so the freaks would have to die.

As he took a fighting stance, Lelouch's eyes darted around him quickly to take note of the surroundings; somehow, the room seemed spacious than he originally thought as he took in the multiple bars sticking out of the walls around them, going higher and higher until they reached the ceiling – the holes he could see were the traps Blacken Felicio used to set them up, and it would be a close call even for him to reach one to slip into it, contort his body out of the way of the swords and get back up to slaughter Felicio. He'd have to leave his friend down here, but that certainly wasn't going to happen, not when he was so hungry and on the verge of snapping because of his Devil Fruit. Over his dead body.

But he could make use of those bars by playing the contortionist – adding his mastery of the _Rokushiki_ , they might be able to do a lot of damage to both the clown and the room altogether. Lelouch glanced at his monkey friend, who had his kodachis out and had also taken a fighting stance in front of Noctis, who was now whispering words of comfort to his sister. Saber looked determined and ready to raise hell around here.

"OK, let's resume our situation before you actually loose your shit and go berserk on me," the monkey man drawled, blinking slowly. His face showed so much annoyance right now it wasn't even funny. "We docked at a winter island just to let me absorb some cold in my tuft, I... snuck into the forest, almost went to play with some elephants and build snowmen, found an aristocratic town with a circus that reeks of creepiness while _you_ , the humanized jack-o'-lantern, were scaring the piss out of the Freesia Pirates who must still be crapping their pants. More stupid stuff, we're down here with a giant jack-in-the-box and you're hungry. It's only a matter of minutes before you go insane and try to kill the clown." He concluded with a dramatizing sigh, even more annoyed. "Try not to kill me, Lelouch. I'd hate to have to maul you just to calm down your hungry, insane ass."

Said master contortionist scoffed, mildly offended. "Don't be ridiculous, I'm sure you'd taste horrible," Lelouch countered. Then he rolled his eyes, just as annoyed as he was while he was willing his brain to remain set on focusing on the clown. "Alright, here's the plan: take care of the blind girl," he declared as he wrenched himself out of Nasse's hold, threw her into Saber's arms, uncaring of her surprised yelp.

This action startled the swordsman, who still deftly caught the acrobat in one arm. "Wh-what?" he gasped, green eyes wide as he looked up at his friend, who was already running towards the nearest wall and also dragging a clueless and protesting Noctis behind him by the foot. " _What_?! That's the plan?! You're kidding me or – _oh damn_!"

It really was a good thing Saber lept out of the way just in time before the giant blade of the clown could cleave him and Nasse in half, for the sound it produced when it made contact with the ground made everyone's ears ring loudly; the navigator cringed, grinding his teeth as he dropped Noctis when they reached their starting-point, uncaring of his protest, and grasped his head in his hands. From there, they could start their ascent in hopes to confuse the clown, because defeating Orion without the whole room collapsing wasn't going to be easy (especially if they had dead weights.). The ground shook under their feet, throwing everyone out of balance – save for Noctis, who was just bouncing up and down like a ragdoll on his back – as they tried to regain their footing.

The jack-in-the-box laughed, clearly enjoying this.

" _Bing, bong, bang._ _Felicio didn't tell me I was supposed to kill_ _friends_ ," Orion droned in its infuriating voice, swinging the other sword in his hand. Its red eyes surveyed his preys, the smile on its lips even more infuriating since it made Lelouch want to rip something to shreds. " _Noctis and Nasse, what happened to you two to be on Felicio's blacklist? What could you have done to upset him to the point he'd sacrifice his ace_ _s_ _?_ "

Saber perked up, still shielding the fear-stricken blind girl in his arms. Friends, that thing said? And 'aces'? So those guys must have had further plans for whatever their leader had in mind, and since their 'aces' were finally thinking on their own and had found the strenght to oppose Felicio's orders, they were to be executed as if they absolutely hadn't meant anything to them. _As if they were malfunctioning, broken dolls_ , he thought with disgust, glancing down at the trembling Nasse. That kind of thinking could get that filth killed rather stupidly by someone else who valued friendship like a treasure – people like Whitebeard's sons, for example.

Lelouch, who had also recovered from the loud ringing in his ears, scowled darkly at the clown. He was wondering the same thing as his friend. "What 'aces'?" he spat, making the jack-in-the-box look down at him. "They're done, broken by the betrayal of your 'master'. I doubt they'll want to keep working for someone who did nothing more than use them for his benefit and is trying to have them killed because of one little rebellion. But more importantly, do you really think that your leader can instill the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique into someone's else mind and make him learn it? Just like that?"

" _Master has some resources_ ," Orion replied simply, twirling the twin swords and bouncing on his spot a little. " _That technique can be transmitted into anyone's mind if he wishes so, it's really simple. They don't even have to learn it with Master's ability_ ," he helpfully – or stupidly – added when Lelouch looked slightly startled. " _It will be instinctive to them, like good, good puppets_."

"There are other ways to hypnotize people for as long as the user wants, until the triggering word is spoken to snap them out and in of their trance," the navigator said slowly, mentally eliminating all the possibilities he could think of as of right now. "The Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique is one of them, but the ultimate possibility to have someone fully hypnotized until the user has no longer use for his victim is out of everyone's reach... could it be an ability he developed through intense training?"

Fortunately for them all, Lelouch remembered he had read that the Hypno-Hypno Fruit was still securely locked away on the blacklist, so nobody could have had stolen it from Mariejois without having been killed on the spot – only his Devil Fruit had been reportedly stolen and, as he had read days ago, 'most certainly eaten'. Knowing the World Government, the Five Elders must have ordered the incident to be kept out from the population, so that they would hopefully avoid massive waves of fear from the Four Blues, Paradise and the New World. Lelouch knew he should be grateful for that, because having to sense terror emanating from loads of people from all around the world at the same time would cost him the last remaining sane parts of his mind. The Terror-Terror Fruit was already a nasty piece of work on its own and he still had a lot to master from his power, so he'd rather not have to deal with everyone's fears at the same time and having to shut down their minds along with his.

How ironic was it to be thankful to the World Government for keeping secret the fact that the Devil Fruit that contains the power of fear was on the loose? It was like being grateful to Charles zi Britannia for not having killed his precious little sister Nunnally and blinding her instead – a little bonus he should appreciate, Lelouch would say with contempt. He scowled, struggling to not give into the desire of letting his twisted mind guide him in order to slaughter the clown. The very thought of having to thank a corrupted organization made him sick to the bone.

Orion straightened his back, making Lelouch snap out of his somber thoughts, and he chuckled creepily. " _It's not a Devil Fruit, to our utter disappoinment_ ," he said, his red eyes staring at Noctis, who was slowly crawling on all fours. The acrobat flinched when he felt the force of Orion's stare on his form, gulping rather loudly in the silence. " _If there was one that granted its user to practice hypnotism on people as long as he wants, Master Felicio would have stepped up his game a little more. But one day, we fortunately found quite an unexpected alternative in the hands of two children – twins, who also came from the Desert Kingdom of Alabasta_."

Having taken a graceful leap to swing onto the first bar so he could begin his ascent, Lelouch nearly fell when he heard Orion's words and he paused in mid-swing, made a handstand and stared incredulously at Noctis' crawling form on the ground. The twins originally hailed from Alabasta? That certainly cleared up the most important thing of this crappy mess – the fact that a circus freak has been using a forbidden technique that could lead to his cold-hearted execution – and though Lelouch wanted to give both acrobats the benefice of doubt, that still didn't discharge them from giving the other bastard an Alabastan technique about hypnosis, since this was a blacklisted power.

But that explained some things. However, they should have known of the implications of using the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique because that would lead them to be executed along with the maniac upstairs – not that Lelouch would actually mind, that'd be a relief. The less people knew about that technique, the better. He'd give Noctis and Nasse one last earful before ending the twins as mercifully as possible (and that was sarcasm, of course.). And of course, their master had to be silenced as well because of his knowledge; once the hypnotist is gone, the victims would be free of his hold, so Lelouch _had_ to get Felicio _pronto_ if he wanted to have his head.

The clown was still blabbering and swaying around like a broken jack-in-the-box, but the navigator had long tuned him out. It was now time to get actual revenge on the freaks for playing with them and waste their energy for nothing; having decided what to do, Lelouch swung once again to launch himself at a higher steel bar, barely avoiding the sharp blade as it hit the rocky wall pretty hard and embedded itself in it.

"That's not very convincing, you need to do better than that if you want to cut some of my hair at the very least," he declared as he skillfully swung to stand onto the steel bar he was now on. Standing on his toes, he smirked mockingly at the clown, intentionally taunting him. "If you can't even touch me, how can you expect to behead a monkey while he's jumping around?"

"SHUT UP, JACK-O'-LANTERN!" came the angry reply from said monkey, whose scandalized expression matched the tone of his voice. Hanging from a steel bar on the opposite wall, a bit higher than Lelouch's position and still having Nasse as his package to save, Saber glared down at the navigator. "And kill that thing so we can get the hell out of that place, I'm going crazy down here!"

Lelouch looked back at the blade still embedded deep in the wall, which prevented the clown from retrieving it, and quickly traced it to the long, mangy arm attached to the big freak. He could do something while he was being distracted by his friends and the others, and the fact that one of his blades was stuck was a plus for him; severing an arm with a powerful _Rankyaku_ would severely weaken Orion, since he was a swordsman. And a swordsman with one useless arm would have to give up on his career. The waist and the neck were also critical spots to kill someone as painful and slow as possible, only to stall the inevitable last minutes before dying and fulfilling a psychopath's sickening glee. Lelouch's eyes shone with a cruel grint as he flexed his fingers, a creepy smile slowly creeping its way on his face.

 _Now I know where to hit. And I know how to get in your head._

He'd already witnessed Doflamingo doing it to someone else with his Devil Fruit (which was quite deadly, Lelouch had to give him that since the madman also took a recent interest to train him personally.), so the _Rankyaku_ would work better if the clown was of flesh and bone. And since he hadn't heard any grinding noise with all his moves, the clown was human. So he could bleed. So he could die painfully.

So Lelouch could laugh while watching him die with a horrified look on his face. All he needed was to give in to the rising, gruesome and twisted consequences of using his Devil Fruit – gods, he was _so_ going to devour lots of food later on after decapitating those clowns and destroying the circus. All he needed was to give in to the madness for a limited time.

For a moment, it seemed that the world around them stopped – there was a silence that only the navigator could hear as his macabre mind locked itself on slaughter mode on the jack-in-the-box, so even Noctis' teeth chattering sound down there was blocked. Lelouch's breathing even stopped as he stared dead on, completely focused on his task and perfectly balanced on his thin steel bar. He counted, using his Observation Haki to monitor everything in the room so he could time himself with Orion.

Just a second before the giant clown could get his blade out, Lelouch shot down from his position like a bullet, as fast as a snake. He angled his body so he could slide down Orion's arm, expectantly startling the jack-in-the-box, who yelled in surprise and tried to cleave him with his other blade. Thus he forgot about Saber, which was good: once again, Lelouch easily avoided the attack with his Haki, using the retracting arm as a trampoline to jump out of reach. Once in the air, he backflipped several times and unwrapped his arms from his legs when he was high enough, thus facing the threat from above. And he still wasn't seeing anyone else but Orion, _only_ Orion. His eyes were gleaming with such malice and his entire body was radiating killing intent that it was making the room vibrate.

 _Ten seconds_. Lelouch smirked, locking eyes with the atrocity below him. "Hey, Orion..." he called out, flexing the fingers of his right hand.

The clown didn't dare blink, as if he knew that would cost him something – his life or something else that would kill him later. But he still prepared himself to receive Lelouch head on, readying his twin blades.

" _Are you ready to die, little doll?_ " Orion chuckled creepily, swirling his swords. He nodded his head many times like a maniac, still laughing. The jack-in-the-box was so focused on his target that he had already forgotten about the others he should have been trying to kill, since there wasn't just only the mismatched-eyed boy to execute, but for some reason he couldn't explain, Orion felt the need to kill Lelouch first. " _Such a shame, an incredibly handsome boy like you would attract so many preys for our master's desires_. _You would be so happy, so loved by master. If only you could –_ "

The rest of his sentence died in his throat, which constricted uneasily due to the sound of Lelouch chuckling almost hysterically (and here everyone thought that only clowns could make creepy sounds.), and this gained the attention of all those who were still conscious or alive at this point; though Saber was holding a blind girl in his arms, he still covered her unseeing eyes with a disturbed expression, closing his and trying to occupy his mind with happy memories just in case his friend might have decided to give in the sweet temptation of madness. If Saber faltered, Lelouch's powers would get through him way too easily, even if he put up a darn good fight to block the nightmares the Terror-Terror Fruit would dig up.

When the others – Orion, Noctis and the triplets – looked up at the navigator, they weren't aware that they fell deep into his trap (even though Lelouch didn't have to look at his victims in the eye to ensnare them in his illusions, it still felt _good_ to witness the fear in their eyes.); Lelouch's eyes visibly darkened and the irises suddenly widened, making the mismatched colours disappear. As soon as the phenomenon registered in their minds, horrible memories flashed right after that, causing the jack-in-the-box to gasp in surprise and falter.

 _The kind smile, that cute chuckle... and the mad glint in his eyes._

Orion bit hard on his painted lips to prevent himself from screaming, drawing blood on the busted lip. His red eyes, which had shown an incredible amount of fear only once in their life, were now as wide as they could be. _No, that's impossible_ , he mentally thought, shaking uncontrollably. _I thought I had buried that part of me long ago, so what the hell?_ Even before he became what he was forever, he had never talked about the most secret terrors and shenanigans that made his former self to anyone – not even Felicio. So what the hell was that?

"...ever played with dolls? Especially the prettiest ones that hide monstrous personalities?"

Orion didn't understand, as the sentence itself didn't really make any sense to him. But it still stunned him long enough to not pay attention to Lelouch as he drew one hand forward, as if slashing in the air without a sword – however, he saw the slashing attack a little bit too late, and he wasn't fast enough to fully avoid it. The pain hit him at full force all at once when the attack cut right through his entire arm, even severing the bones, and he couldn't prevent his eyes from rolling to the back of his head because his whole body was throbbing.

Who the hell could send a _Rankyaku_ just by using one hand instead of the leg?

That was when the screaming finally started, with Lelouch laughing.

* * *

 _About ten minutes later_...

The wild sobbing was shaking Nasse's body all over and though Saber really wanted to comfort the blind girl, he still couldn't find the words she needed to hear, because he just knew she wasn't in the right mind to listen; he had never had the unfortunate chance to experience his best friend's terrible powers, so he didn't know what it could do to him. It would certainly break him – the chances of succeeding were damn high, the World Government knew their shit when they put Lelouch's Devil Fruit on that blacklist. Those with weaker minds and wills would be easy preys to him, should he lose control of his Terror-Terror Fruit. And that had almost been the case with Orion right here, whose giant, limp corpse was all messed up, mangled and bloodied on the floor; due to his hunger, Lelouch had snapped and his powers had not only touched and mentally slaughtered the jack-in-the-box, but they had also reached the twins and the triplets. Since they had been scared of the jack-in-the-box and what he'd do to them, should they fail to defeat him, the Terror-Terror Fruit still allowed its master to sense their fear and play with it. So they had a very light taste of the monstrous power his friend was hiding. Very, very light indeed. Vergo warned him against Lelouch's upcoming abilities years ago, after he made him swallow the forbidden fruit, stating that it would change him forever.

 _Looks like the bastard was right about that. But still..._

So he just held onto Nasse, since he really couldn't do anything else because she was clinging to him for dear life. Unprepared to this as they were, Saber had still covered the blind girl's eyes for some reason he still didn't understand – as if something in his guts told him to protect her from the haunting madness and terror Lelouch had been about to unleash. His green eyes searched around, bypassed Orion's dead body, and found Noctis. His gaze slightly softened as he took in the boy's terror-stricken expression; he was trembling like his sister, huddled in a corner with his arms wrapped around his legs, balancing back and forth. His golden eyes were wide, still showing the shock of seeing the nightmares and his darkest fears in his mind. Saber cursed, grinding his teeth. Lelouch really hadn't been kind.

And the hybrid still had to go after him, since he wasn't in his right mind and must be hunting down Felicio. But before going, he had to know something.

"That's how your sister can see, isn't it?" he murmured to Noctis. "The brotherly bond between you two must be damn strong if you're linked together. You see for her, which is how and why she can't really be considered as fully blind. She's able to see through your own sight. Amazing," he muttered as he glanced down at Nasse, who was both panting and crying at the same time, though a little quietly. "Has it been like this ever since you two were born?"

No answer. Not that he was expecting one, especially in Noctis' current state.

"Alright. I...have no words adapted to this situation and to comfort you after what my friend's powers put you through," Saber continued, closing his eyes with a serene expression on his face. He sighed, feeling the nerve-wrecking tension the twins were both subjected to. "I can't even say I'm sorry for whatever you've seen under his illusions, because that won't matter and fix you, but what I can say is that it's _not real_ if you _know_ it's not. Your fear turned you into easy preys for him, and his powers automatically took advantage of that, which is something you sometimes don't pull out completely sane afterwards."

He tore his gaze from Noctis, looked up to where Lelouch had headed out. Turned out that Orion's body had been hiding a secret passage built deep into the wall all this time, leading towards the surface and back into town, and since Lelouch had made such a huge mess around the room, he had managed to make the gigantic jack-in-the-box crash into the wall, thus discovering the passage. The navigator had flown up the stairs, still covered in Orion's blood and smiling like a madman.

Determined to find Lelouch and knock him out before he could take out innocent victims (because he still had to perform the counter-spell to nullify the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique, and he needed to be in his right mind to do so.), Saber tried to pry himself out of Nasse's nearly choking hold.

"You've been hypnotizing people all this time, and Lelouch caught you. Whether he decides to execute you or not, it's up to him, but he _has_ to cancel the spell after taking out Felicio. And for that to happen, I really, really need to get moving," he grunted as he forcibly wrenched himself out of Nasse's arms, but he still held her by the arms before moving her trembling form to her brother, who suddenly jerked to life as soon as her skin touched his. " _You_. Take care of your sister," he firmly ordered Noctis, boring his serious green eyes into his golden ones. "You're her rock as much as she's yours. If you both falter, you'll sink. Trust me: I have siblings _and_ two twins I'm always worried about."

Something so personal shouldn't be said to a stranger such as this Noctis guy, but when there were siblings involved in a very messy situation, Saber himself couldn't remain indifferent. Twins always had a more special bond than siblings with an age difference, they were practically connected to each other and that had always been so wonderful. Saber being a triplet, he couldn't deny that he loved his connection to his two other twins. Why was he so kind to them after they had tried to kill his best friend? Just because Noctis and Nasse were their enemies didn't mean that their brotherhood had to be overlooked – Lelouch would have hesitated, perhaps, but Saber wouldn't have overlooked the bond between siblings.

These two kids just needed to survive, so they took the first hand that wanted to help them up and give them a path to follow, whether it was a bad or good one. Saber knew it could have been the same with his siblings had they been captured by, so he couldn't judge Noctis and Nasse for fighting for their life.

Heaving a sigh, the hybrid dropped to one knee and firmly grabbed the boy, who jerked a little in his hold, and brutally brought him to an eye-to-eye level. " _Understood_?!" he barked, his green eyes shining with a feroce determination.

"Y-Yes!" Noctis yelped, nodding fervently and clearly intimidated. He took several breaths to calm himself, having been brought back down from his shock, then shook his head, his golden eyes now more focused. "Yeah!" he growled with more conviction in his tone.

"Good. I'd feel down if something happened to you two, because brotherhood is everything to me." Realizing what he said, he used a small amount of Haki to look for the triplets because he had actually forgotten about them. When he found them unconscious and injured in another corner of the room, he was relieved to hear their heartbeats and breathing. "I have to go," he said, getting up and fingering his swords and the sniper rifle. "My friend needs me."

After sharing a final look of understanding with Noctis, Saber dashed away to find Lelouch and, if possible, Felicio in one piece and his mind still intact. The fight with Orion had wildly shaken the foundations of the passage, and his fall to the ground when he was finally defeated by a mad Lelouch must have made pretty serious damages; some heavy blocks of rock had fallen, created some worrying cracks on the steps, thus making the ascent a little bit dangerous for a normal person. But certainly not for the hybrid: it was just another climbing game, as if he had to climb a particularly difficult tree. _This is partly why I'm grateful for being half-monkey_ , he thought with a cheerful smile as he used his impressive agility and flexibility to climb the severely damaged staircase. Lelouch must have both contorted and used the _Rokushiki_ to get back upst airs, but with his current state of mind, getting him to calm down would require lots of food and a good night's sleep. He would be, at the very least, out cold for two days straight or three if everything went well after Felicio's defeat.

Only _if_ everything went well, which included that the inhabitants of Coral Village better not try something bad when he and Lelouch actually saved them from being enslaved by freaks and the Freesia Pirates better still be back at the bay where they left them. If the latter problem turned out to be true, Saber would have to bomb them once they caught up to them – if his friend doesn't sink them first with cannons, trying to send them to a watery grave for betraying them.

"That wouldn't be good for them if that _actually_ happens," Saber muttered as he gracefully swung to hop onto a banister, his tail wrapped around his waist. "I'd so not want to be around if he throws them to Sea Kings as food, which is something he might do."

And that was partly why he had to get Lelouch before he could do something _really_ bad. Not that he'd get in the way of his best friend, but still; they were on a tight schedule here, and if they wanted to get to Alabasta before the battle between the rebellious army and the Royal soldiers of Alubarna could begin, they had to leave this place. When he finally got to the top floor, he rolled his eyes in relief as he wrenched the door open, also hurling a surprised obese clown, who must have been clinging to the handle, out of the way.

"Whoa!" Saber exclaimed as he sidestepped to avoid the collision, which would have sent him falling back downstairs. And that was the case for the clown, as the hybrid watched in amusement as the clown fell with a girlish scream. "Going for a ride down the stairs? Didn't see you coming, but I'm not sorry for that!"

The swordsman stepped into what seemed to be the backstages of the circus, and it was currently crawling with lots of defeated clowns – just _how many_ of them were there? Since they were still all breathing but moaning in pain, Lelouch must have blocked all their pressure points to disable them completely, thus preventing them from doing anything. That couldn't have taken more than ten minutes with his speed and precision (heck, not even five if he remembered that they were in a rush, that he had to perform the counter-spell for the hypnosis and get the hell out of Quasar.), he just didn't feel like taking them out permanently.

Nevertheless, he still _did_ have to take care of one of them; he unwrapped and straightened his tail, snarling, and brutally brought it down on the clown's head by using the massive tuft as a Haki-infused mallet. Three times. Then he sauntered off, leaving an out cold freak with missing teeth and a bashed face. Never try to grab a monkey's tail, because they were nastier than prey mantis when they were mad.

"Lelouch!" Saber called out as he ran straight towards the stage, sometimes dropping on all fours and doing a little parkour to avoid the dangling bodies in the ruined backstages – his friend really didn't go easy on them all. Good, that should calm them down until they threw their asses to the wolves. Upon reaching the stage, his green eyes widened in disbelief and he stopped dead in his tracks, surprised. "You must be _kidding_..."

He'd been expecting many things, like a bloodied Blacken Felicio barely alive after a good beating, screaming his head off because of Lelouch's terrifying Devil Fruit powers – but not a mass of _civilians_ attacking his friend all at once. There were already many of them knocked out on the ground, immobilized by Lelouch's swift and efficient chi-blocking, but there were still a lot of them attacking – were they from the crowd? What was worse was the fact that all of them were still hypnotized, and therefore were obeying Felicio's orders to stop Lelouch from reaching the master of this circus and ending his life; their glassy eyes were all the more upsetting, and though his friend was doing a very good job at not killing them while in this unstable state, Saber could tell it was slowly pissing him off by the exasperated expression on his bloodied face. _Having others to do your deeds_ , he thought with a disgusted sneer as he shook his head, _is the best you can do, coward?_ This was exactly why hypnosis shouldn't be used on naive people who wouldn't suspect a thing at first and wouldn't be able to fight back.

Coward. Bastard. He should be offered as a sacrifice to Sea Kings.

Felicio being nowhere to be seen at the moment, the swordsman groaned in annoyance as he jumped in the fight, using the flat side of his blades so he wouldn't really hurt any civilian. Avoiding them wasn't so hard since they didn't have formal training, but it was just the fact that there were tons of them coming all at once, not giving the two friends any rest, that was really annoying.

They were soon fighting back to back, Saber having managed to slide his way in towards Lelouch, and they were performing a formidable combination; when Lelouch backflipped to do a handstand after disabling and kicking yet another civilian, the hybrid took it as his cue and nimbly jumped on his extended legs, that were stretched out until they were doing a flat angle, to stand on them, his tail swishing and ready to knock out their attackers without killing them. The extra weight didn't seem to have perturbed the expert navigator, as he started to spin on his hands. This new combo didn't startle the civilians, as their expression remained infuriatingly aloof.

"I hope I'm not too heavy for you, jack-o'-lantern!" he shouted at Lelouch, an excited smile stretching his lips and his green eyes twinkling. Swinging his sheathed twin kodachis off his shoulder expertly, he cast a mischevious look at their hypnotized 'enemies'. "'Cause we're about to make this circus _really_ not so fun!"

"Do _not_ kill any of them, monkey!" Lelouch shouted back, spinning a little bit faster. Then he smirked, mischief shining in his eyes. "Oh, and don't fall!"

"And you better still be sane and awake after we deal with Felicio, 'cause I need you to break the hypnosis and restore peace and order in this city! Then only after that you can fall asleep!"

Their combination worked: with Lelouch doing a handstand and spinning on the ground, the expert navigator kicked those who lunged at them, and with Saber balancing himself on his legs, the hybrid used the pommel of his swords or the tip of the sheath to strike the civilians on their pressure points to either disable or knock out those who dared to come at them in the air (because yeah, some _actually tried_ to do that.). Unfortunately, the ride ended when one woman grabbed his tail, tugging at it rather painfully, which caused the hybrid to snarl angrily at this, and the unexpected action brought the trio to crumble down like a foundation.

 _Curse that hypnosis technique_. Lelouch clearly hadn't expected someone to hold onto Saber's tail, and with the woman now spinning around like a lasso, he couldn't retain his balance because of the extra weight and he faltered on his hands. His eyes widened in surprise as he felt his friend's weight and the hypnotized woman's suddenly leave his legs, and he fell rather gracelessly on his back with a groan, while Saber and the woman went flying until they brutally crashed into the wooden benches. As surprising as it was, it wasn't enough to really perturb Lelouch while in his current state: he exhaled harsh breaths, suddenly rising on his legs like a puppet, from the other way around – his legs went behind his head, and once his feet landed firmly on the ground, he pulled up his torso effortlessly until he was standing on his legs completely. His arms swung back and forth a little, but Lelouch didn't care as he slowly cracked his neck, his eyes closed. Really, he was going to thank Sphinx for putting him through this insane training – being a master contortionist happened to be fun and damn useful when he needed to get out of sticky situations.

Even in his half-mad state, his senses were able to pick up the movements of the target he'd wanted to hunt down, should she escape him out of the circus and into town; ragged breaths were escaping his lungs as he struggled to get out of the mess of his ruined home not far from Lelouch's position, sometimes cursing. His heartbeat was wild and unwilling to calm down because of one emotion that was causing his voice to crack and waver, his body to fail him. Not even freaks could block out such terrible emotion when it was gnawing at them, because there would always be an animal to sense it.

 _Fear_. Absolute terror in the form of a mismatched-eyed boy with a terrifying smile. He knew he had to get the hell out of here – right the fuck _now_. He had turned into the prey, terror-stricken, and the hunter was bloodthirsty, dying to get his hands on him.

Amid the low chorus of pained moans, his voice stood out in a creepy tone as a feral smirk emerged slowly on his face. "Hold on a second, Felicio. Where do you _think_ you're actually going?" he said, raising his head until his smirk was fully visible, his eyes still closed. "Don't you want to play with new dolls before we say our final goodbye to each other?" He cocked his head on one side, his fingers twitching to hurt. "Or do you wish to declare your swansong right now before I shred your wretched mind to pieces like an angry kid rips paper when he's frustrated?"

The sound that escaped Felicio's throat came out as strangled, as if he was trying to choke on his cries. His eyes, which had always been sickeningly gleeful because no one had dared to put a brutal end to his fun, had become so fear-filled that it looked unsettling on him (oh, the _irony_. He was supposed to be the one having fun with people, not the other way around). Though he was willing his body to move, it wouldn't budge one damn bit, and the wild shaking in his limbs wasn't helping. If only he could get out of the circus, his ruined circus that had unfortunately met his demise in the mismatched eyes of a monster, he'd be ready to crawl on all fours. He wouldn't even have time to feel ashamed and humiliated, he'd just want to get the hell away from the monster who triumphed against Orion – and viciously slaughtered him.

 _Getawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetaway_...

So that's what terror does to you: it cripples your mind until it can no longer think coherently and all you do is run away, anywhere you think fear can't get to you. But _how_ in the hell could that kid do this? Was he using some kind of toxin – a fear toxin, somehow? That would be the most logical explanation his crippled mind could muster, because there was absolutely _no freaking way_ that a Devil Fruit could allow a user to get and use such a terrifying ability. No way. Felicio could swear that his now fragile mind was screaming at him, even though it was heavily clouded by fear and couldn't really focus on the present. All he knew was that he had to scramble out of here, run out into the wild without looking back and –

"Ack!" he choked out, his arms crumbling under the very sudden extra weight on his back. He was slammed against the dirt, coughing harshly, and when he feebly tried to move, he was brutally slammed back. The feeling of fisted hands, and nothing else, as if Lelouch was doing a handstand on his own back was utterly painful. The bastard was a little bit heavier than he thought – and he looked so slim and lean. But even so, Felicio had to give him credit for having a perfect balance.

A dark chuckle from said bastard above echoed, sinister and chilling, making the clown go still once again. "You wouldn't love to hear a story from my childhood, it's not really the kind of story you'd find funny and endearing, so I won't bother. _Instead_ ," he said, swiftly shifting into a standing position on Felicio's upper back by contorting until he was on his legs, causing the clown to curse and groan in pain. Then he dared to place one knee on his shoulder blade, earning him a hiss that he brushed off. "I'll just guess yours while we're still at it, that might light up my mood until I decide to get rid of your ass and turn it into bloody Sea King food. Let's see...once upon a time, there was a sad little boy who who, despite the world being this unfair and sometimes unkind place, desperately tried to give it a smile even though it could fail unpleasantly." The smirk on Lelouch's face grew larger, if it were possible. "There was no father to guide him, probably abandoned his family or must have tragically died. So that leaves the little boy with his mother, who loved him very much. Since there wasn't a father figure in his life, everything fell down on her shoulders. She had to raise a child on her own, sometimes wondering when they'd be thrown out for not making ends meet, and God only knows how tough it is to raise just one child without having the means to give him happiness. Still, he decided to smile and say that everything would be alright. Am I right so far, _Fe-li-cio_?"

This time, Lelouch could witness a thunderous expression spreading over his face; the frown became a harsh and offended scowl, the grimace turned into a nasty snarl. The transformation was very sudden that it was almost endearing to watch. It replaced the pained one so easily and quickly that he nearly gawked at it, but he held his composure with a smirk. _That_ was the reaction he needed.

"Shut up," the clown hissed coldly, sounding like an angry snake. "You don't even know what you're talking about."

"I sure don't, but I can try," Lelouch countered sweetly, almost childishly – but in a mocking way. When Felicio started trashing around, he restrained him quite easily by pressing his knees even further on his shoulder blades and trapping his arms behind his back. "You see, you alone think it's quite amusing to make fun of people when you're in control, but what happens when you lose that control over them? You get to be the prey for the hungry wolves, making you suddenly vulnerable and cornered. Especially _cornered_ ," he emphasized this specific word by snapping the clown's right wrist in his grip, rolling his mismatched eyes in annoyance when Felicio kind of muffled his cry of pain by biting his lip so hard that it bled. "I'm no hero, I'm not trying to be one, but I deeply despise people who use other people to do their dirty work, and you using hypnosis like this is sickening."

He lowered his head until his mouth was right next to Felicio's ear, snarling. "So here's the proposition: you're going to put an end to this freaky nightmare along with the hypnosis charade, because that's going to get all of you killed, even the citizens you've enslaved. Do you think the government is going to spare their lives if they find out they've been hypnotized? It's not just the fact that you had twins to use a forbidden Alabastan technique – it's the hypnosis in general that scares the heck out of them. Why do you think they put all hypnosis techniques on a 'forbidden-to-practice' list? I won't waste my time explaining to you how much torture you'd be exposed to both in your jailtime in the hands of the World Government and in your next life in hell, I have a better idea."

And without going into further details, Lelouch lifted his hand, readied his fingers, and deftly struck a pressure point behind Felicio's neck. He gasped, his eyes rolling to the back of his head, and went lax on the ground, out cold.

The navigator breathed slowly – once, twice, thrice – and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate as he stood up and stepped off Felicio's body. The urges were still surging through him with great force, clashing like wild mavericks against the ramparts of his own body and mind – they were clawing at him to be let free, to express that killer intent he was trying so hard to repress. Lelouch had never felt such amount of killer intent, not even back when he was still Lelouch Lamperouge and possessing a Geass; dismantling Britannia would have required the will to make sacrifices and the strength to not look back on the wasted lives, and his Geass really changed him for the worst. It severely damaged his humanity to the point he'd enjoy torture and manhunts, but he couldn't deny that his Devil Fruit fully completed the transition.

 _Killkillkillkillkillkillhimkillhimkillhimkilltheclown_ _killtheclownkilltheclownkilltheclown_...

He clutched his head, grunting and tumbling backwards a little. "No... I still need the bastard to face... pure fear and horror," the navigator growled savagely as he forced his mind to concentrate on something more important – Alabasta, the counter-spell for the hypnosis. He still had to perform to free the hypnotized civilians from the powerful technique, but the calling of terrified screams and broken minds was just that strong.

If Lelouch chose to unleash his powers onto Felicio right now, while taking advantage of his unconscious state, the damage on his mind could be greater than expected because of the amount of fear he could sense from the clown before he knocked him out – that awakened his hunger, enticed by the 'smell of terror' that lingered on his target when he realized that his circus was falling apart due to Orion's death at the hands of Lelouch. But that would drive him to be incredibly exhausted after using the Awakened Nightmare, and damn hungry. More than he already was as of right now. He'd learn to get rid of those inconvenients with time, but that would require lots of training with Doflamingo, Vergo and Saber.

Damn Devil Fruit.

Slowly, Lelouch opened his eyes, and they immediately zeroed on Felicio's body – he couldn't help it, the fear surrounding him like a halo was just too endearing to ignore. And it made him even hungrier just to think about feeding on the clown right now, just to satiate his Devil Fruit's hunger and get his shitload of sleep afterwards. His pupils slowly got larger and wider, blackening his eyes as he started to breathe harder. He flexed his fingers repetitively, as if attempting to restrain himself from grabbing the bastard.

 _Killkillkillkillkillkillhimkillhimkillhimkilltheclownkilltheclownkilltheclownkilltheclown..._

"Snap the hell out of it, Lelouch!" shouted a voice just a second before the navigator was violently slapped.

The force of the blow managed to knock him over and he fell to the ground, eyes tightly shut and gasping for air as he desperately tried to sort out the rampaging emotions inside his head. His cheek stung due to Saber's slap, but the pain was very welcome as of right now: Lelouch really was about to commit an insane act that would have driven him to become some kind of dream eater. Bless the monkey, he always seemed to sense his friend's distress even over a thousand miles away!

"Easy, my friend," the hybrid coaxed as he put his hands on Lelouch's shoulders to steady him. "Listen to my voice, Lelouch. It's gonna be okay, alright? Just breathe, breathe deeply."

Lelouch's voice was raspy when he acknowledged Saber's words. "The counter...spell...I..." He couldn't finish his sentence as a raging coughing fit overtook him, shaking his body.

"That can wait a few moments," Saber snarled, his hands tightening around Lelouch's shoulders. He had to contain his rage and control himself for a few seconds before being able to talk calmly. "Your health comes first before theirs, Lelouch, and I'll always put yours first before anyone else's."

His health first. Always.

* * *

As he looked at the duo with expressionless golden eyes, Noctis thought about everything that happened to him and his twin Nasse ever since they were taken in by Felicio and his band of creeps. Leaving the Desert Kingdom of Alabasta after the disappearance of their parents had been a decision he would never think of looking back, because it could have meant starvation until death for him and his sister. The journey to Alubarna for two children would have killed them, even though they were aware of the dangers of the desert, so he had taken a drastic decision. He took a book of martial arts, his precious twin sister and his pride, and made his way to Nanohana so they could both sneak into a boat.

Felicio had found them in a spring island, when the twins were practically dying of starvation. Noctis was wary of nature, but the aura the clown had exulted that day had somehow comforted him and Nasse – anything that could put his blind sister at ease was a welcome blessing. And Felicio... that guy extended a hand towards the twins, smiled at them both, and said something strange.

" _How about a ride, lovelies?"_

Even after years, he still couldn't understand that question. All he knew was that he and Nasse had accepted his hand, his affection and anything he could offer them. He hadn't questioned Blacken Felicio back then, and Nasse was just so happy she had a roof and a warm bed to rest – that had been enough for Noctis. But it was slowly after encountering and fighting against this Lelouch guy and his hybrid friend that he finally understood how wrong he'd been about Felicio's nature. The bastard was twisted enough to sacrifice his own tools just to save his worthless life, trying to get away with crime (because hypnosis had been deemed as a crime by the World Government). The fact that this betrayal came from the very man who had offered them a 'new life' left a sour taste in his mouth, but the worse blow was Nasse's tears. His sister crying was a sight he never wanted to see again. Never again.

The son of a bitch had to be punished.

Having taken a decision, he coaxed Nasse into walking with him in his arms and made his way towards Saber and Lelouch. The mismatched-eyed boy was hunched over, trying to gather his senses and breathing – was it a result of the terrifying horrific technique he pulled in Orion's lair before he killed the gigantic clown? It seemed to have taken a toll on him, and the monkey man was whispering words of encouragement, concern written over his features. As he looked him over, Noctis heard his words once again.

" _You're her rock as much as she's yours. If you both falter, you'll sink. Trust me: I have siblings and two twins I'm always worried about."_

They seemed so genuine that he had wanted to believe him on the spot – Felicio having betrayed him and Nasse was enough to be judgemental about people, and that was understandable. But there was something about Saber and Lelouch that made Noctis want to... believe.

Vibrant green eyes snapped up at them, stopping them dead on their tracks. The concerned expression faded into a frown as Sabertooth observed the twins, now silent. Then his gaze found Noctis' golden eyes and stared right back, inquiring. The elder twin swallowed slowly, nibling on his lip. This was the first time he was being nervous around someone so intimidating such as this hybrid, and that was kind of irritating. Especially when he wanted to do something right.

Nasse, sensing his distress, searched for his hand and grabbed his right one to squeeze. He squeezed back.

And that worked just fine. "Can we help?"


	6. Race to Alabasta

**Author's Note 1:** Guys, I'm very sorry for not updating in months – had to study for my semester (WHICH I PASSED, BY THE WAY! YES!). There's the last semester I've got to pass as well, so it's gonna be hectic. Wish me luck.

* * *

 **Chapter Six:** Race to Alabasta

* * *

Noctis' amber eyes were glowing strangely as he explained the characteristics of the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis technique to the mayor of Coral Village – one of the only few people who hadn't been caught in the dreading hypnosis and had stayed clear from the Blacken Serenade Circus. He looked like an old man ready to bite the dust because of his awfully long, white beard and his wrinkled face, but Saber could notice both the wisdom swirling in his eyes and the mistrust he was feeling toward the twins (they were, after all, the main tools for the mayhem Blacken Felicio had been creating around). Even though he must have wanted to get rid of the freaks all by himself to protect the village, he couldn't have fought age as his frail body was trembling all over. His gloved hands were gripping his cane tightly, and his sharp stare never left the Alabastan duo, which was a bit unnerving and mostly deserved. Saber swore he could sense the old mayor's urge to beat them up for doing his town wrong.

But his voice was firm and strong as he spoke with Noctis. "Let's say I'm going to believe what you're saying for a moment, because it sounds like you really know that technique," he ruffed, smoothing the left side of his mustache with his fingers. "If you say that they won't remember their time as puppets under this madman's control, I'll need proof. _Visual_ proof that you're telling the truth and not trying to pull off another stunt. But the core of the problem is _you two_." He emphasized his words by shoving his cane to Noctis' face, only missing him by inches as the acrobat backed away just in time and nearly hitting him. The anger was now fully visible on his face and, Saber noted with a sigh, legitimate. "After everything you've done under his command, why the sudden change of heart? Why should I trust the bastard's key to his sickening plan? The only thing I should do about you two is put you in the hands of the Marines."

Saber's green eyes found the twins' faces, which had gone pale due to the threat and the horrible things that would likely happen to them if they were handed to the Marines; while he didn't have Lelouch's Terror-Terror powers to sense fear from anyone around him – and around the world if he could be that powerful enough –, his keen senses never failed him and could pick up any emotion. He couldn't taste it like his friend, but he was able to tell from the jerky and nervous reactions the mayor's words were causing; Nasse's expression was heartbreaking, because she didn't look like the fierce acrobat and fighter of the circus anymore, but more like a frightened little girl who was about to beg for her life. And the tears that were gathering in her unseeing eyes were tugging at his heart. Noctis was trying to uphold a brave front, but the hybrid could tell he was itching to burst into tears.

He hated it. He hated seeing people cry, especially his siblings. That always made him so sad. Even though Noctis and Nasse were partly responsible for hypnotizing people, he could tell they were genuinely trying to amend themselves for what they've done – as far as he could tell, they hadn't killed anybody. Their hands weren't exactly bloody, but they weren't pristine clean either. Their punishment could be lighter, should they be arrested by the Marines, but the World Government would downright execute them right away.

"We want to do the right thing for once in our life, that's a choice we have never been given due to a situation that would have left little hope for a possible future," Noctis pleaded, albeit calmly. He placed his sister behind him to protect her, as if fearing that the old man might try to snap at her. Saber nodded, praising him. "I'm not going to tell us our story, because that's useless by now, but our reasons to help are completely genuine because we do now have a choice. And we've chosen to help by getting rid of the effects of the hypnosis."

The old mayor didn't look convinced. "You could have chosen to run away from Felicio as soon as you had the chance, boy. You could have taken your sister and run away from them all, that could have prevented this whole mess with this hypnosis thing."

The hybrid scoffed, scowling. Noctis may have asked him not to interfere while he'd try to reason with the mayor, but he had his limits with idiots and all he wanted was to get out of this island with Lelouch – and they really needed to get going, because whoever was after them would catch up soon enough. He cast a worried look at his very comatose friend, who was almost slumped in the comfortable sofa of the mayor's office; his face was surprisingly relaxed, but the constant widening and narrowing of his pupils in his half-lidded eyes set him on edge. He looked like he was about to fall asleep and never wake up, even though he'd still be breathing. The dose of terror he used on Orion must have drained his mental strength to the point he'd be really close to losing it, and ready to unleash pure terror-filled nightmares all over the island. Lelouch should go see a doctor before they could set sail, or he wouldn't be able to navigate through the Grand Line in the best of shape, and it would take him a while to recover before he could use Felicio as fish food for Sea Kings. Damn blacklisted Devil Fruit, damn Vergo for stealing it.

"Have you ever heard of the saying 'Don't bite the hand that fed you', mayor Soprano? I'm sure you must have at some point, because you're an intelligent and wise old man who didn't become mayor just by crushing your rivals like peanuts." He leaned back on his seat, now staring at the three other people in the room. "These two led a harsher life than you think, and they took the hand that gave them what they needed to survive – proper care, attention and a roof. Granted, I don't know how they've really been treated by Felicio and I don't care, but this was the man who saved them before they could die. They were able to live, they've grown, all thanks to this bastard. How could respectful and grateful kids could ever turn on the person who saved them from a terrible fate?" His green eyes narrowed dangerously at mayor Soprano. "Even you couldn't be this stupid and biased. Tell me, we're listening."

The old man visibly stiffened, his face contorted in an offended expression, which Saber almost counted as a good hit. His words must have struck home – they _must_ have. But to his stupor, mayor Soprano still found a way to get angry, even though he had a right to be. "I don't really care if they lived one ground breaking life or not, what matters is the fact that they still hypnotized people for that freak! And what was his goal, anyway? Take over the World Government with an army of zombies?" He directed his glare towards the twins once more. "Did you even try to dissuade him from using that technique? That would have saved us the trouble and we wouldn't be in this godforsaken situation."

"We did warn him about the consequences of using that technique!" Nasse cried out as she clutched her brother's coat, making Lelouch twitch as he lazily glanced at her, silent through the ordeal. Even through his comatose state, he still could sense the fear emanating from Noctis and Nasse – which was pretty amazing, considering his exhausted mind. Such emotion could never be blocked from him, unless it was dulled by some weird, very strong meditation. "It was like he wasn't even listening to whatever word we were saying, because he didn't seem to care at all. And even if we could have gotten away from him, there were the others to remind us of the gratitude we should feel toward Felicio – he saved them as well, you know. W-we were all entitled to him...but –"

"But that didn't really matter, did it?" Saber cut her off, drawing all eyes onto his person. He was staring directly at the twins, his gaze unwavering and expressionless. "Once he discovered that you were capable of casting a very strong hypnosis on people, thanks to that technique Lelouch was ready to kill you for, he no longer saw you as his proteges or whatever you and Noctis actually were to him. Hell, did you _ever_ matter to this madman?"

"To be honest, I don't think any of you ever really mattered to Felicio," Lelouch piped in, having managed to sit up next to Saber thanks to his help. His mismatched eyes assessed the twins, who struggled to hold his stare due to his pupils narrowing and widening constantly. He still hadn't fully recovered from his nightmare trip he's inflicted on his victims, and that was going to take a while, but he was far from falling asleep. "But that's not the question right now: I may be indisposed at the moment to perform the counter-spell for the Dancing Cobra Hypnosis, but I'm sure you two would be utterly glad to help them out. Felicio and the goons were all taken care of – you can either kill him or have him executed for his crimes...but don't forget that you are now criminals." His eyes narrowed down on the twins, who flinched under his gaze. "It's not my call to kill you and I couldn't really care...but didn't you say you were from Alabasta? Surely you must know what's been going on there."

* * *

Lelouch looked downright exhausted when he gazed sleepily at his Transponder Snail, which was now connected to his mentor's, but he still found the will and the strength to talk about his recent fight with Orion. N o matter the consequences, he still had to report to Vergo because **a** , he owed the older man a lot things in his new life (including all the new accesses to the Marines' classified informations, the navigation and history books he could have never afforded and his training. His body still remembered the hard and nerve-wrecking workouts it had gone through), **b** , because he would have never gotten so far without his mentor's network and influence around a world he still knew so few about – the late Lelouch Lamperouge would have thought that his intelligence alone would have been enough to survive in the harsh and unforgiving Grand Line, how awfully wrong he would be. He would have died before he could have reached the age of ten – and **c** , because he was the only one, beside Sabertooth, he could talk about his Devil Fruit abilities with.

There was still so much Lelouch had to learn, and having someone on his tail would only make things more complicated. Should he terminate the threat before things could get any worse, he would have to erase his trail and disappear from the World Government's radar for a while. Vergo wasn't just his mentor: for the first time, in his second life, he could say that he actually had someone to look up to. That felt kind of nice, because there had been no one to look up to and admire for Lelouch Lamperouge after he'd been exiled with Nunnally; his hatred for Britannia and Charles zi Britannia had reached such high levels that it was barely contained at times, but he had to control himself around his sister, because she needed him the most back when they were still children – a crippled, blind girl couldn't have gotten far in the war zone that was Japan, now renamed Area 11.

"I didn't know I could reach this deep," Lelouch said as he slightly rubbed his eyes. The food he's been given had done its effect for the moment being, now he needed to rest. He would have to order other rounds of plates, but later. "Whenever I use the Memoriabilia on someone, the attack takes me far into my victim's most secret nightmares and the fact that they're unable to stop me from doing so is rather unsettling – because I can feel more than just their fear and see their nightmares. Now that I have a somewhat more fitting description of my Devil Fruit, I can definitely confirm that I can review someone's memories, especially the worst, trigger them in the mind and revive old buried fears as long as I want and as much as I want."

" _Isn't that what you did with Doffy, Lelouch?_ " Vergo inquired, sounding curious. " _Back when I first introduced you to him?_ "

"Yes. Wasn't it obvious by the violent reaction he's got right after he saw those horrible memories? I thought he was going to impale me to the wall when he looked down at me with that stupefied and, dare I say, troubled stare. If Trebol hadn't stepped in, I think he would have." Lelouch sighed, reclining in his seat. His mismatched eyes gazed sleepily at the snail, blinking. "I think what triggered my powers to reach for his memories was the fact that he has a very, _very_ fucked up past and that it took him time to master his old fears. That's not something you can get away from in one piece; even as an adult, he was still haunted and had frequent nightmares of that particular night. I always suspected there was something unsettling about Doflamingo, since he's got the Conqueror's Haki and even unlocking it as a child is very rare, but I guess I shouldn't be this surprised: his mind was overcome with so much stress at the time, and he was no ordinary child. Looks like he was meant to create big waves in the Grand Line..."

And he really wasn't. What didn't really surprise Lelouch was the fact that Doflamingo had shot his father shortly after having nearly been crucified by the civilians the Donquixote family had decided to live with, despite their status. Lelouch wouldn't judge the Warlord for executing his father – in front of his brother, whom he had scarred and later executed as well – because he himself had eradicated his parents without shedding a single tear of regret, Marianne and Charles had both deserved to die. Donquixote Homing had a very... optimistic, idealistic and naive perception of the world when he had decided to give up his status as a Celestial Dragon and live with what his breed called 'lesser and insignificant creatures'. He really thought he and his family would be accepted among normal civilians, despite the horrors other Celestial Dragons had done to people who had family in the island they had come down to.

The man clearly meant good – he truly did. Lelouch had seen and could feel how humble and kind Donquixote Homing was, compared to the other bastards he used to live with. But the fact that young Doflamingo had to understand the very harsh and cruel way that giving up a higher status to a lesser one would mean leaving all the past privileges you used to get so easily in the past was even more...cruel. Even if you give up your status and claim to be someone else entirely new, you'll still be the past person everyone has seen and known. So, for the people on the island they had lived on, the Donquixote family was still Celestial Dragon breed.

 _I can almost relate to him_ , Lelouch realized with a gulp. Except that his father was a five-star son of a bitch. Doflamingo and Rocinante had loving but oh so naive parents. They meant well and clearly were so different from their goddamn breed, but their error was that he'd been so convinced that they would be able to cohabitate with the common people that abhor their kind with the strongest hatred that could ever exist. And that had been fatal to them. There will never be any other Celestial Dragon like Donquixote Homing. Never. This was a unique man with a unique perception of the world who, by some miracle, had a different view of normal people and hadn't been brainwashed by the words of his kind. Doflamingo had executed his loving father, who took everything away from him – his power, his status, _everything_ – and Lelouch had killed his own father and mother when they threatened God himself. In a way, both of them had to be eradicated. In a twisted way, Donquixote Doflamingo and Lelouch Lamperouge were alike.

And that was kind of terrifying, considering the fact that the Warlord had outright executed Homing in front of his dear brother. Then again, Lelouch had shot both Clovis and Euphemia, but he regretted killing only one of his two siblings. And even now, he couldn't really look at her ghost without thinking of her real form, rotting in a grave back in Britannia – she didn't deserve that, Lelouch knew it.

" _I'm one of those who saw his huge potential, so it's no surprise that you could see it as well_ ," Vergo continued, an edge of pride in his tone that almost made Lelouch snort in amusement. " _Back to you: how do you feel after using your powers? Sabertooth said that you were about to literally eat the clown when he stopped you. Never took you for the_ _cannibal_ _type, Lelouch._ "

Of course Saber would say that. "I swear, Sabertooth...alright, I got no excuse for nearly snapping and losing my control over my powers, but had he not been there to knock me out of my phase, I would have done something to the bastard. I know I would have, because I could almost taste that clown's fear and it would have been heaven in my mouth. It should be frightening, but I kind of like it," he added with a chuckle before regaining his serious exterior. "I can only imagine what I can seriously do with it, that must be why someone is after me. My best bet, it's the World Government."

" _And if you want any more precision, try the Cipher Pol. Those bastard preachers of Dark Justice are always looking for new assassins to do the dirty work for the Five Elders, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised to find out that you're their next target to add in their collection: you're the very rare kind of genius that suddenly pops up out of nowhere, with a_ _perfect_ _mastery of the Six Powers (and I'm pretty sure you've been working on the Rokuogan as well,_ _so don't even try to deny that fact_ _), who is an expert navigator and strategist and pos_ _s_ _esses one of the most dangerous blacklisted Devil Fruits of this world._ _So I'm wondering who could try to get –_ "

Vergo fell silent so suddenly that it made Lelouch freeze in anticipation. When a full minute passed, he started to feel uneasy; his mentor being silent had never been a good thing, it usually meant that he was either mad or thinking. And whatever it was, it couldn't be pleasant.

"... _if that's really him behind that circus, then that's a problem_ ," the Demon Bamboo muttered darkly. " _That guy has always been too ambitious for his own good_."

"And who's too ambitious for his own good, pray tell?" Lelouch asked, now very curious.

His mentor was silent for a few seconds, surely waging his options, before speaking again. " _Lelouch, listen very carefully, and I don't care if you're too tired for this because I won't repeat myself: there's a secret branch of the Cipher Pol that is supposed to be unknown for everyone outside the World Government and the Marines – even the simplest soldier is conscious of its existence. It's called Cipher Pol 9, or CP9 for short. They're a special branch that is handed extreme missions only them can accomplish._ "

Lelouch almost rolled his eyes. Why wasn't he so surprised? Something like that from the World Government had to be expected. "Any particular reason they're given extreme missions? I'm ready to bet Saber's next stack of derringers that a complete mastery of the Six Powers has to be required. That and something else."

" _CP9 is the only branch of the Cipher Pol to have the right to kill_."

A gleam in the navigator's mismatched eyes suddenly sparkled and lit those strange orbs of his. _Ah_. An assassination branch in the Cipher Pol. Now that piece of information was interesting: having the right to kill meant that they could choose whether their target could be a threat in the future or not, thus killing would solve any future problems with that person. If CP9 had to remain a secret, that must mean that they were those assassins who wouldn't be punished if they compromised a mission by killing the target, because that was a right they were given. That and the fact that they could blend in very easily. If you include Cipher Pol Aigis Zero for being the most powerful of them all (and the lapdogs of the World Nobles, on top of that), CP9 must be almost just as powerful and ruthless.

Well, if CP9 was after him, that was going to be problematic.

"I see," Lelouch said after a long minute of thinking. "And who's their chief? Assuming he's the one who wanted my file so desperately that he had to resort to using bounty hunters?"

The Transponder Snail showed a sneer, imitating Vergo. " _That is the core of the problem: their chief. His name is Spandam, and I'm still_ _dismayed_ _that he's been given the position of head of the Assassination Cipher Pol branch_." There was a disgusted sound from the Vice-Admiral, which almost made Lelouch smirk in response. " _Not only is he so weak that even a child could maul him in a brawl, but he is weaker than the average soldier. If you're wondering how he gets to boss the CP9 agents around without getting killed, just tell yourself that they only respect him because he's their chief and nothing else._ _He got the position just because his father, Spandine, used to be in CP9 as well – and they are both absolute_ loosers _._ _It's pathetic, really. Unfortunately, Spandam is incredibly ambitious,_ _maybe too much for his own good_ _: I'm ready to bet my next meals that he's_ _already drooling over the fact that he thinks he's about to capture you,_ _and the fact that he got his position as chief of CP9 through his father is infuriating_ _. He's_ _always boasting that the World Government would praise him as a hero for capturing infamous criminals, such as Nico Robin for example – her being the very last Oharan who can read the Poneglyphs makes a prized and golden target_. _This is absolutely sickening just to even think about him_."

Lelouch cocked his head a little to the left, supported by his fist. He looked deep in thought. "I've read about her. She's called 'Devil's Child', responsible for destroying and sinking battleships in Ohara when the World Government decided to rain down a Buster Call on this island. But I don't think an eight-year-old child could have done that, that's too ludicrous... but having a bounty of seventy-nine millions Berrys on her head at only eight? _Damn_. I can relate to her in her case with my Devil Fruit," he said bitterly.

" _If you get found out, Lelouch... there's a chance you'd get a bounty, higher than you could ever imagine. And your only crime would be being the wielder of the Terror-Terror Fruit, a blacklisted Devil Fruit that was supposed to be securely locked away in Mariejois._ _That would be about the same as harming one of the Celestial Dragons._ _You'd get killed on the spot, so they_ _can_ _recover your fruit, or thrown in the lowest level of Impel Down, where the most dangerous criminals of the world are kept to rot until they die. That's not a fate made for you, Lelouch_. _Spandam is treading on a very dangerous path if he thinks he can have you for free –_ _if that's really him who's after you_. _But what the hell could he really want from you?_ _That idiot_ _couldn't have found out about your Devil Fruit, could he_?"

Lelouch raised a brow and smirked, challenging. "That's for us to find out, although it's not going to be a lot of fun. That Spandam guy sounds like a piece of work and a bloody pain in the ass. The World Government is after your protege and said protege happened to have eaten a blacklisted Devil Fruit, which was supposed to be kept secret for as long as this organization existed, and is now in possession of the dreadful blacklist. They have all the reasons in the world to hunt me down and kill me, they would recover the Terror-Terror Fruit and make it look like it had never been stolen in the first place. Schemes and schemes to keep all populations in the dark so they wouldn't suffer a blow," he scoffed, scowling. "But this Spandam... what you said about him is quite intriguing: I get the fact that they think that capturing Nico Robin would ensure the World Government some 'peace', I can't help but think that someone like the chief of CP9 must have some hidden motivation to have her hostage and prisoner. The archaeologists of Ohara must have been on the verge of discovering something really big to have their island completely obliterated by a Buster Call," he said with a heavy frown. "And pinning the blame on a little girl so that the World Government would be able to keep everyone in the dark is low. Very low."

" _That's their number one strategy in a nutshell, and getting the Marines to obey their commands doesn't require strength – it's their job to protect all populations against evil,_ _even though they're wrong most of the time_ _. But that's not very important right now: pack your bags and leave this island._ _Yo_ _u and Sabertooth need to get going to Alabasta_ _at godspeed_ _. I suspect that_ _p_ _rincess Nefertari Vivi is bound to return very soon to put an end to the future civil war Crocodile is about to trigger_." There was another pause in his speech, to which Lelouch found curious. " _She could use some help_."

The navigator, who was about to take a sip of his tea, jerked in surprise and stared incredulously at the Transponder Snail. He didn't even hiss at the warm liquid that splashed on his leg. "I beg your pardon, Vergo?" he asked, forgetting to add the -san after his name, because he was sure he didn't hear what he just heard. "Did you just suggest that I should _help_ the princess? Why should I? She won't even remember me meeting her in her palace, that was years ago. Her father might, but as for princess Vivi?"

A small frown appeared on the Transponder Snail, barely visible because of the dark shades over the eyes, but Lelouch knew all too well he shouldn't cower. He never would ever again, not even in front of Doflamingo. " _Lelouch, just because you're my protege doesn't mean that you should forget about respecting your mentor. But yes, that's what I'm saying_." A sly smirk slowly appeared on the snail's face. " _You shouldn't underestimate a girl's mind,_ _as young as it was,_ _especially when there's a fair chance she might have developed a crush on you. With your looks, it can't be hard to attract a flock of girls and women to your person, even as a child. Her father will remember you for sure – nobody can just forget about such a brilliant child who was suicidal enough to be under Sphinx's crazy tutelage_."

Lelouch didn't know what was worse: the fact that his friend thought that he was a cannibal, or Vergo telling him that he should use his charismatic persona (or whatever the hell he meant by that...) to get close to princess Vivi so he could help her in her quest. He fought an annoyed groan as he pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes shut. Even as Lelouch Lamperouge, the mere idea of being interested in girls never popped in his head, although he had a large fan club in Ashford. While he persuaded himself that Euphemia may have been the first girl he ever loved, feelings and love just couldn't reach him before C.C and when they finally did, they struck very hard and painfully.

Shirley. Kind, shy Shirley Fennette who had loved him unconditionally.

Her death really shook him, but her feelings for him struck him harder. Why was it always when someone close to you was dying that you realize their true feelings about you, whether it was love or hatred? Death almost didn't matter in this case, because the realization of something that should have been found out much earlier was too painful; using his Geass to try saving Shirley's life was the kind of desperate action that made him realize a lot of things about her – not only that she loved him, but that he cared so much about her. Maybe not in the way she would have wanted, but still. Lelouch cared. He really did.

Having taken a decision, he opened his eyes and gazed at the snail. "I'll think of something. I'm not promising that I will help to get rid of Crocodile, but I still want to know what her plan is. So yes, we should get going right now."

Vergo hummed, approving. " _Godspeed_." Then he hung up.

Once the conversation was finished, Lelouch yawned for a few seconds before slumping in his seat, suddenly more exhausted than ever. He had a lot in his mind, schemes to think of just to terminate a threat without revealing his Devil Fruit abilities and getting rid of potential agents on his tail. And all this required cunningness and energy, which he didn't have for now.

"Damn, what a mess," was all he said.

He sat there for a little while, immobile and silent, then got up to snatch his backpack. He had a monkey to retrieve, two twins to take with him, a clown to use as fishbait for Sea Kings and a Desert Kingdom to travel to.

* * *

"There you are, monkey man," Lelouch said as he slowly sauntered up to his friend, dragging an unconscious and heavily chained up Blacken Felicio behind him by the foot. He couldn't particularly care if the clown got hurt in the process, because he was feeling way too lazy and tired to make him walk. "Gathering supplies, are we? We'll need them for the trip to Alabasta, as there's still many islands to pass by to make it to the Desert Kingdom."

Saber beamed at him, green eyes glowing. "You mean _you'll_ need," he corrected, laughing as Lelouch scowled at him. "Ah, don't be so grumpy, the townspeople are grateful towards us for getting rid of the Blacken Serenade Circus, so they'll supply us with everything we need. And you do need the food more than me," he added, suddenly turning more serious as he leaned in to whisper. "Using your powers to a certain extent makes you quite comatose, Lelouch, and this is something you should work on. Clearly, you still haven't explored everything this Devil Fruit gives to its wielder, and that must be partly why you always limit yourself and need to eat in order to stay sane. You'll replenish once we're onboard."

Mismatched eyes slid over to the place where the gigantic tent once stood, only to find it empty. Right after Blacken Felicio's defeat, the news had spread over to all the citizens that haven't been hypnotized like wildfire; led by their mayor, they had locked up all the clowns – the corpse of the giant one was still down there and would likely be left there to be eaten by maggots, it was too big to be moved, anyway.

Nevertheless, Saber was right: Lelouch still had too much to master from the Terror-Terror Fruit, but the idea of getting to the bottom of his powers was making him very uneasy. The Geass, as it was unexpected, had revealed itself to be more dangerous than he had originally thought – just having to shoot Euphemia, because she wouldn't stop firing and killing people due to the influence of the Geass on her mind, to fully stop the madness he had unvoluntarily triggered was a painful consequence he didn't want to happen again in the Grand Line. But somehow, he had a feeling things wouldn't go as smoothly as he thought in a world where even the impossible was possible.

"Hn, you don't need to remind me that," the genius replied in a hushed groan, rubbing his eyes with the other hand. "Speaking of being onboard, have you seen those Freesia pirates around? Just to make sure they haven't fled the island in fear that I'd scalp them for doing so?"

Saber shoved more food in his backpack, which had become quite enormous, while responding. "I saw Ferret near the library of Coral Village twenty minutes ago, but he left soon after getting some books. Looks like he's hoping to catch up to you!"

"Not talented enough, he's still pretty basic and relies too much on his sight, which hinders his sensitivity to the changes in the atmosphere. And the twins?"

"They're waiting for us inside the restaurant. What?" he said as soon as he caught Lelouch's miffed scowl. "They were hungry, I wasn't going to forbid them from eating after everything they've through just because of the two of us!"

* * *

 _About ten minutes later..._

"WHAT THE – WHERE THE _HELL_ ARE THOSE BASTARDS?!" Lelouch shouted, irate, as he stared at the empty bay.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS THE SHIP?!" Saber yelled, somehow even more irate.

Sometimes, Lelouch should just listen to the voice that tells him 'don't go scaring the heck outta people', because fear would always drive people to do something beyond stupid or possible. Somehow, he was kind of expecting those pirates to do something while they were away, taking advantage of their absence, but still: that would only drive Lelouch to kill them for that, if they managed to catch up. Fortunately, both and Saber didn't leave any personal belonging onboard, as that would have become a problem later on if those idiots ever decided to throw them overboard – Lelouch had the Eternal, Log and Tri-Log Poses on his person, his books as well (especially his logbook, that one was precious), and Saber had all his weapons. The only problem?

No ship, no travel to Alabasta.

Lelouch rounded up on Noctis and Nasse, who were standing behind them awkwardly, and glared murderously at them (even though they didn't do anything wrong). Somehow, he still managed to look both exhausted and bloody furious at the same time with his eyes blazing in fury. "We need a ship. Now!" he barked at them. "Those bastards are going to _bleed_ once we catch up to them, or maybe the Florian Triangle can take care of their fate so I won't have to waste my time strangling their sorry asses for leaving us in this god-forsaken island."

Noctis nodded frantically, actually surprised at Lelouch's ire, and bolted back into the forest. The others followed suit, one with his mind submerged in many ideas to make the pirates pay for their betrayal and looked beyond pissed, another with a sulking expression on his face that clearly showed his discontent at the situation they were now in. The last one just looked sheepish and shy, using the hybrid as her personal shield because she didn't want to get in the navigator's sights.

No matter how good-looking he was, even when he was angry.

* * *

Mayor Soprano didn't look surprised as he looked at Lelouch's utterly displeased face. "What? No ship to leave the island?" he mocked, raising a brow. "How unfortunate!"

Screw his manners, there was no time to be diplomatic. And he was still pissed. "And you didn't lift a damn finger to help your citizens when those clowns were hypnotizing them to become their zombie-puppets, you just screamed and your blood pressure threatened to put you in the hospital," Lelouch shot back in a drawl, making the mayor tick with a nasty glare. "Do you really want to go there with me, old man? I'm not in a patient mood right now, so do you have a ship we can take so we can leave?"

* * *

Surprisingly, the ship was in good shape when the mayor grudgingly presented it to the little group; what made Lelouch grin like the Cheshire Cat was the fact that it was a galleon, bigger than the Freesia pirates' ship and loaded with cannons that could do a lot of damage with Sabertooth in charge of them. While Lelouch had let Captain Wen, Ferret and that stupid first mate take care of the helm because he was the head navigator, and had to keep an eye on both the sea and the weather, he certainly didn't mind being at the helm because he had become damn good at it – part of becoming the best navigator ever, you see. Once Vergo was sure Lelouch had become accustomed to the helm of his ship, he'd let his protege ride them safely to any destination they needed to get to in the New World.

And with this little beauty, Lelouch, Sabertooth, Noctis and Nasse were ready to go through the Florian Triangle and face whatever they'd find in that supposedly 'haunted' place – after all the stories he'd heard from various sailors, he'd like to go through the actual Triangle and see for himself. There was apparently _something_ in there: one or two sailors, who had managed to get through the god-forsaken area without encountering ghosts, were able to catch sight of two giant, bright eyes in the fog. But nothing else.

If that wasn't something interesting, then Canterbury Lelouch wasn't a genius. But alas, Alabasta was more important, so whatever was in the Florian Triangle would have to wait until they were finished with Crocodile.

"The good and best thing is, I won't have to argue with those imbeciles anymore about who should keep an eye on the sea and the weather, even though I could that myself," Lelouch grumbled as he threw his backpack and other enormous backpack (that was full of clothing and accessories, because they truly needed some for now) on the couch of the cabin, then went back up to find Saber and Noctis conversing on the deck. Nasse was going up the stairs, probably toward the kitchen, her steps steady and confident. Again, the fact that she was using her brother's sight as her own made him very curious.

" …pretty cool to go back to your home country, right?" the hybrid was saying, smiling widely at the acrobat. "After all these years spent in that damn circus, you two deserve some time back in your native land just to get acquainted with everything once again. Aren't you a little bit excited?"

Noctis looked a little hesitant. "Well, I don't really know how to feel about going back there," he admitted as Lelouch jumped up there to check on the sails. "It's been so long since we last talked about Alabasta that I kind of feel alienated from it, and it's our native country we're talking about. But I'm more concerned about the problems that are plaguing it, with a Warlord being there and creating more discontent." His golden eyes looked up to follow Lelouch's nimble and lean form that contorted in a disturbing way. The navigator looked pretty serene as he waited for the wind to pick up. "I...don't even know what to expect anymore."

Saber followed his gaze, resting his green eyes on his best friend. He was quiet for a few seconds before replying to the younger acrobat, solemn. "Worried about Lelouch going back on his word?" he guessed, crossing his arms. "Don't. Save yourself the trouble because we were going there anyway, so you two don't worry your pretty little heads. Lelouch will get us there without any problem, he wouldn't deceive you when he saw your sorrow...but our main concern is the Florian Triangle." His expression grew annoyed, almost frustrated. "That's gonna be a hassle."

"Yeah...I'm still wondering how we got through it without so –"

"Talk later, the wind is finally picking up!" Lelouch's authoritarian voice scolded from above. He had come down from his perch and was running towards the helm, an excited smile on his lips. "We're leaving! Saber, raise the anchor!"

"Aye aye, jack-o-lantern!" Saber responded, a smile of his own lighting his face.

They didn't have to be told twice, as if their little group had acknowledged Lelouch as not only their navigator, but also their leader; even Noctis was moving along, unfolding the sails with new found vigor and confidence in his actions. It wasn't just those two strangers he was hoping to be acquainted with, it was about the aura they both exuded whenever they were together or apart. Although they were terrifying – especially Lelouch – and a thousand times stronger than he and his sister were, Noctis wanted to believe that he and Nasse would be just fine tagging along with this strange duo.

Behind them, the wind blew. A nice, strong breeze that inflated the sails and lurched the galleon forward, and they were finally riding the waves to leave the island. Lelouch could barely contain his excitement as he maneuvered the helm like a pro, ignoring all the cheers and thanks from the citizens shouting their goodbyes to him and Saber; the weather wasn't too bad for now, and hopefully would remain like this for a little while until they encountered another storm. He chuckled rather merrily, his eyes shining and hair whipping around, and smiled. It was still a pretty long journey until Alabasta, but it was worth the ride as the race to get there would only mean that he would get to see Sphinx once again.

Ah, the memories of the old man were _refreshing_ , even though his insane training had been nerve-wrecking; excluding Vergo, Sphinx had not only become his first master when he popped up into this crazy world, but also his first friend. It was different from Suzaku, but even more meaningful; when he met Suzaku Kururugi, it took them some time to finally accept themselves as friends and his Britannian origins only made things rather tense. Lelouch had been glad they could have worked it out, even though everything that happened afterwards was just... plain maddening. But Sphinx? The Alabastan never pried again when he understood that his pupil had never wanted to tell about it, he never judged him (mainly because he had kept quiet on his origins, that would only cause unnecessary headaches) and accepted him. He just accepted him, regarding of who he really was. That was very refreshing to know. And this new world was just another challenge of its own, a place where Lelouch Lamperouge didn't have to exist and fear that he'd be recognized one day as the exiled prince of Britannia: in the Grand Line, Lelouch Lamperouge, Lelouch vi Britannia and the Holy Britannian Empire were absolutely nothing to fear, so those names held no value to anyone.

It looked like the gods had graced him: this world wasn't just a haven, it would be his new home – for him, Canterbury Lelouch. It just felt so good to remember this that he couldn't help the hearty chuckles that shook his body. It was just _that_ good. More than anything.

"A second wind at life I shall not waste because of revenge, this I promise," he said softly, his eyes shining with determination as they looked forward and never strayed. Then his smile widened a little bit, genuine. "Brand new world... start me up!"

 _Yeah_ , he thought with new found ferocity, _brand new world, start me up_. He had a pretty good idea of what was awaiting him in Alabasta; if the Warlord Crocodile was trying to just take over the country by pretending to be a hero and framing King Nefertari Cobra, then there had to be a side goal to his plan. There just had to be one – what good the Desert Kingdom would bring this former pirate? The country's funds must be pretty low for the time being, if they hadn't had _any_ rain in three years. Three years was a long time. And it couldn't just because Crocodile was fed up with his title, he had the Baroque Works to make up for it. Whatever the goal this nasty organization of his had, Alabasta must be hiding something big, something very precious the royal family must be guarding at any cost – for a greedy Warlord to trigger a civil war within the country, it had to be pretty important and dangerous. From what he could remember from King Cobra, he wouldn't surrender that easily without a fight.

His stomach decided to let him know that it was still craving for food, for it suddenly growled very loudly – that was pretty uncharacteristic of him, but he clearly couldn't care anymore. He gritted his teeth in annoyance, just as his expression soured. This Devil Fruit was pretty demanding and if it were an actual person, it would have hollered at him like a petulant, bratty child!

"Oh, for crying out loud," he grunted, glancing toward the cabins. Did he really have to eat _now_? "We just set sail, we've been at sea for...seven minutes, and I already have to stuff my face? This is unfair."

He glanced from right to left, front and behind, checking if there were any pirate ship or World Government vessel that might be tailing them – because the threat was still very present. Since no one was there yet to have a go at them, he might as well try to eat some lunch and then go meditate on the deck – Saber could take the helm for a while he tried to find some peace and think all he's discussed with Vergo.

Just as he was about to call for his hybrid friend, the feline face, ochre eyes and red hair belonging to Noctis appeared in his sight. Needless to say, he looked a little apprehensive as he approached Lelouch with slow steps; he was grimacing, kept looking down but would sneak a few glances at him, then would immediately look away. It was more than shyness, the navigator could sense it – his Devil Fruit was tingling and poking him to 'take a bite at him'.

Damn. Noctis was still pretty scared of him.

Lelouch couldn't blame the acrobat for feeling that way; the Terror-Terror Fruit was a predator on a league of its own and was merciless towards those who were unable to master their fear before it overwhelmed them, turning them into easy preys the wielder of the damn power wouldn't have too much difficulty in devouring. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment. Him nearly losing control over his powers could have had greater consequences on the whole town, and especially its citizens: it had always been very easy to scare the hell out of people, you just need to say the right words sometimes, dig up their worst fears, and you have a bloody nightmare that you can't wake up from. He was feeling a bit guilty that the twins had had a foretaste of his Devil Fruit when he didn't even need to kill them anymore, but he knew that apologizing for what he had unconsciously done wouldn't really make up for it.

Lelouch suddenly cleared his throat, making Noctis look up at him. "Yes?" he asked, glancing casually at the Eternal Pose in his hand. They were going at the right direction, so no worries for now.

"H-Hum," he stammered, hesitant. "I... wanted to see if you needed anyone to take your place at the helm. Well, if you want."

"The monkey told you about my powers, didn't he?" Lelouch guessed, blinking twice to remain concentrated on the sea. He smirked when Noctis answered with a yes. "Saber worries too much for his own sake, but he does have a point there: I still haven't fully recovered from my terror-nightmare trip, it drains a lot of energy to use special attacks with this peculiar Devil Fruit and I have to rest. But as the navigator of this ship –"

" – you shouldn't fall asleep when you're at sea, because our course might change in a second," Noctis finished for him, nodding in understanding as he leant on the railing next to the leader of their group. "Right, I forgot about the nonsense of this mysterious ocean and how much work it gives to all navigators. What a pain!"

The atmosphere between them was lightening up, as if the tension that had been there was suddenly being lifted. Lelouch's smirk softened a little, immediately sensing the poking and tingling in his mind were dying out slowly, as if disinterested. Noctis' fear of the New World navigator might have subsided just a little, but it was a start nonetheless. They just had to keep talking so they could get to know each other, even though that might be difficult for Lelouch, since he still couldn't trust the twins for now.

"If you think that Paradise is crazy, then wait until you can get in the New World – that is, if you ever manage to get there in one piece," he said, his mismatched eyes starting to glow. Even his voice had taken an eager tone, though he probably didn't realize it. "The sea is just... _marvelous_ to sail, because it's a much more worthy challenge to all the best navigators in the world. Take the example of all swordsmen wanting to fight against Dracule Mihawk, one of the seven Warlords of the seas and the greatest swordsmaster of this world: they all have one unique and same dream, to become the strongest. His title made him legendary, as legendary as the Four Emperors ruling the sea of the New World, and it appealed to all those who are eager to measure themselves to him." He gave a short chuckle, shaking his head. "I can't imagine the number of those he already crushed, but I'm pretty sure he's waiting for the one who would take his mantle. The greatest always get bored when they don't have enemies worth their strength, they look for lesser preys just to kill time because they now have all the time in the world. Well, the sea of the New World is pretty much our 'Mihawk' and we navigators all aspire to conquer it. Whoever will be the next King of the pirates will have the second best navigator, should the One Piece be real and found sooner or later."

Lelouch fell silent, still smirking proudly. He might not have noticed the way Noctis was looking at him, but he could feel his awe. Truth to be told, he hadn't talked like this in a very long time – ever since he died and was reborn in the Grand Line; his rebellion against the Holy Britannian Empire had been genuine and legitimate, but the passion he had felt during his time as Lelouch Lamperouge and Zero didn't seem to compare to the one he was feeling as Canterbury Lelouch. They were different: the passion Canterbury Lelouch always felt was akin to a blazing inferno that just couldn't be tamed, always powerful and stronger than any fire. Whenever he fought, whenever he set sail, he'd feel it in his guts. It might be the calling of the sea and adventure, because Lelouch couldn't see what else it could be. The late Lelouch Lamperouge didn't have much of a future in his world, since his origins as one of the princes of the mighty Britannia could have crippled him, should he have been recognized somewhere by Clovis, Schneizel or even Cornelia – all the others, minus Euphemia, Nunnally and maybe Odysseus, could just fuck themselves. Especially _Carline_ and _Guinevere_!

"I don't know if you and your sister have dreams yet, but maybe you could sail the Grand Line on your own once our business in Alabasta is done?" Lelouch suggested, glancing at Noctis. But then, his eyes darkened a little as he remembered something unpleasant. "Speaking of the Desert Kingdom and its problems, maybe it's time to tell you about what's actually going on there. Go get your sister, because that concerns her as well."

* * *

Days passed, some uneventful and others pretty busy as they finally stumbled upon pirates and bounty hunters to boot – flying on flying fishes to catch their preys, how original! But this Duval guy wasn't all that annoying, if you looked past the fact that he didn't take Lelouch's dismissal very well – throw in a good glare to him and his men, and you're all free to go. The most amusing part of meeting that group of bounty hunters was Sabertooth winning all their earnings by beating their most talented players at poker in about ten minutes: who knew that hybrid was so fond of games like that? Lelouch was aware that his friend loved money, but that was a bit extreme to bleed Duval dry. And his reply to all this?

"We need more money to last the trip to Alabasta, right? So they better not whine that I was the one who bled them dry, others would have done worse. But since we're in a hurry, I had no choice but to step up my game and make them cry fast."

Saber had been crying out of joy ever since they got back on the road, counting and calculating their earnings and some of the treasures he had taken, but even he wasn't that dumb to just put it all in the safe; hiding it well in their temporary galleon was the solution, and if pirates came to fight them and loot their money, a little trip to the bottom of a Sea King's stomach would calm them down – just like Felicio must be right now. The clown had been disposed of by two very eager and vindictive twins, who were more than delighted to take care of him. Listening to his wails while he was getting thrown into the mouth of a giant Sea King catfish – Lelouch and Saber had been retaining it by his long whiskers, smirking as they kept pulling at them to open its mouth. Afterwards, the marksman had braided those whiskers as an apology to the giant catfish – Lelouch didn't see how that would make it up to it, but the monkey had assured him with a smile that it was fine, that it wouldn't hold a grudge against them. The navigator had rolled his eyes, ordering Noctis to take the helm so they could continue their journey.

But the most memorable moment was when they finally entered the infamous Sea of Ghosts – in other terms, the Florian Triangle.

Lelouch had groaned when the fog suddenly appeared out of nowhere, obscuring his vision a little bit. That really wasn't idealistic for a navigator, because he needed a clear view of what was around him. This was the one thing he hated whenever he was at sea, but he was still feeling giddy about the whole thing; the Florian Triangle, the supposedly haunted place where thousands of ships have disappeared.

"Didn't Vergo say that the Warlord Gekko Moriah has made this part of the sea his residence?" Saber asked his mismatched-eyed friend, frowning at all the fog around them. "Kinda hard to think that anyone would live in a haunted place such as the Florian Triangle..."

"That's correct," Lelouch confirmed, checking the Eternal Pose to make sure they were still going in the right direction. Doing so, he was also using his Haki to guide himself through the thick fog. "Out of the seven Warlords, this Gekko Moriah might be the weirdest of them all. Vergo-san revealed me pretty interesting facts about him that not many people know about that Warlord, and the one that got my attention was the fact that he drastically lost to one of the Four Emperors in the New World, Kaido, and is still mentally scarred about that defeat."

Nasse, who had joined them outside, looked disturbed. "One of the seven Warlords? He _lost_?" she exclaimed, more than surprised.

"I guess there are more big shots even stronger than them," Noctis grunted, also pretty amazed at the fact. "I've heard that the three Admirals aren't to be taken lightly either, since this is the highest rank right after Sengoku's."

Lelouch shook his head as he answered. "No, they're definitely amazing powerhouses that currently reside in Marineford because that's where the greatest can be found, even though they freely roam the Grand Line whenever they must have time on their hands. Actually, Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp, nicknamed "the Hero", is one of their greatest assets because of his insane strength and his knowledge of Haki." His eyes narrowed a little. "I wonder why he refused to be officially made Admiral, this man is simply amazing to have fought against legends such the late Pirate King, Gold Roger, and Shiki the Golden Lion."

Since they mostly had nothing better to do during their blind travel through the fog, they simply discussed and kept a lookout around them; Lelouch had stated that the weather would be fine for now, having checked everything that would eventually put them in trouble and still checking, but he was relaxed for now. Noctis and Nasse were still reeling from all the informations he had shared with them so far, their expressions were somber as they stared into space, and Lelouch couldn't blame them to be worried. Even though they had left Alabasta years ago and felt alienated, this was still their country – their native country.

The contortionist himself was at a loss at Crocodile's intention towards the Desert Kingdom: framing the king of this land for bringing a forbidden powder to his country was pretty low, considering the devastating effects it could have on lands.

" _He's brought Dance Powder in Alabasta?!" Lelouch exclaimed, his mismatched eyes widening in surprise and horror. "Does that bastard even know what devastating effects it has on lands once the rain it created finally dried?!"_

Lelouch scowled in annoyance. He had to give Crocodile some credit here: by bringing great amounts of Dance Powder in Alabasta, he managed to take the rain away from the country for three whole years because that would be a great disadvantage to him, due to his powers. The Sand-Sand Fruit may be a powerful Logia Devil Fruit, but water would give the advantage to everyone as he won't be immune to physical attacks anymore. The Dance Powder had done its effect; King Nefertari Cobra was successfully framed for having great amounts of the damn product shipped to the port of Nanohana, and great unrest among the citizens will finally cause a civil war between them. Crocodile wouldn't even have to lift a finger if everything went according to plan – Princess Nefertari Vivi coming back to stop his projects wouldn't be a blip on the radar, especially if she didn't have a single clue about whatever he might be really looking for in Alabasta. Taking over her country? No, a pirate wouldn't be interested in running some country that was on the verge of dying, even though it was still fighting.

And even though the Nefertari family was one of the descendants of those who created the World Government, alongside the Donquixote line.

"Tch! This fog is pretty damn thick," Saber cussed, frustrated. "I kinda want to use my Haki, but that would be a useless waste of energy. Hey, Lelouch," he addressed his best friend, who was also looking around. "Did you sense anything around?"

"No, nothing yet," Lelouch sighed, still holding the helm. "Not a single soul around the perimeter, though I'm sure Moriah's around somewhere in this place. Let's not forget that the Florian Triangle is enormous, his boat might be a few miles away from our position right now."

At his words, the twins and the hybrid groaned in frustration, all already tired of this place. Lelouch snickered to himself, amused beyond belief. This was just the beginning.

All of a sudden, they heard something in the distance.

"… _Yohohoho..."_

Everyone perked up, Lelouch being first as his eyes slowly widened in surprise and their pupils shrank gradually fast. He was, somehow, spooked. Saber, Noctis and Nasse all started looking around them for the source of the sound, dismayed.

"What the hell?" the hybrid mused, frowning. "What is that?"

"Who's singing?" the twins exclaimed together.

"… _Yohohohohoho..._ _Yohohohoho..."_

Dismayed as well, Lelouch walked away from the helm to jump on the deck and scanned the area, getting ready to defend himself and his friends against whatever – or whoever – was lurking around and... _singing_.

The sound reverberated once more, this time closer to them. And when Saber was about to lose his mind, the silhouette of a very damaged ship appeared before them, advancing very slowly. The wood was ancient nad creaking, the sails were torn apart Lelouch's eyes widened even more, if that was possible, as he stared numbly at the vessel. He could hear the twins gasping right behind him, stupefied, he could sense Saber's wonder and amazement at his side, along with the sharp intake of breath that left his lungs. The sound, sorrowful and utterly creepy, echoed from there alright: so whoever was singing was onboard that 'ghost ship'. But who the hell could that be? His Haki couldn't pick up anything _alive_ around four miles ahead and around.

The ship was awfully slow to make it to them, but it eventually revealed the singing 'ghost' that was spooking them all. There was a lone figure onboard the slightly larger and battered ship, rather slim and leaning on deck. When they finally could get a good look at him, Lelouch's gaze became completely blank as he stared numbly ahead, Saber's jaw grew slack and his mouth fell open as his green eyes widened greatly, the twins didn't refrain themselves from shrieking out loud.

"IT'S A SKELETON!" they both screamed, holding each other. Their eyes had even rolled to the back of their heads.

"Is he wearing...an afro?" Saber wondered out loud, still a bit disturbed and his eyes twitching. "You've got to be kidding me..."

"LELOUCH, LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" the twins both hollered at their navigator as they grabbed his shoulders, shaking him wildly. "THAT THING IS GONNA KILL US!"

But they shut up almost instantly as the skeleton – with an oustanding afro, mind you – resumed humming. He was holding a cracked tea cup, was staring ahead of him with (blank?) empty sockets that didn't have eyes anymore. His clothing was just as battered and torn, but he looked pretty elegant-looking despite the fact that he was an obvious skeleton.

" _Gather up all of the crew..._

 _Time to ship out Bink's Brew..."_

Eerie as it sounded right now, Lelouch's brain instantly recognized those lines: they belonged to a song pirates always sung at certain times of joy and sorrow – Bink's Brew. Quite endearing, because he liked the background of that song. And right now, the skeleton sounded very sorrowful, as if something extremely bad had happened to him in the past, prior to this encounter.

Lelouch's eyes never left the figure as the ship drifted by them, carrying the singing skeleton as he released one final " _Yohohohoho!_ ". His pupils were still tiny and his eyes wide, and he just stood there, deadly silent. Was that actually possible? That the undead could really come back to life? The possibilities of something like that happening were just too...weird; the Grand Line being full of mysteries getting crazier by the second in each adventure, it was still amazing that things like that could be real – his own Devil Fruit was proof of that, every Devil Fruit was just one of the mysteries and wonders of this world.

He came back to the world of the living when Saber's tuft slammed violently on his head, nearly making him fall on his knees. "Did you see that? Lulu, wake up!" the hybrid shouted excitedly as he repeatedly slammed his tuft on his friend's cranium. "That's the first time I've ever seen a singing skeleton, we need to investigate further!"

"NO, WHAT WE NEED IS TO GET THE HELL OUT OF THAT PLACE!" Noctis countered, still screaming loudly and his hands clamped on Lelouch's shoulders. His anxiety rolled off him like waves and his fear seemed to be increasing each second they were spending in the Florian Triangle to bicker whether they should chase the skeleton or leave. "WE'RE NOT MONSTERS LIKE YOU, SO WE SERIOUSLY GOT TO GO BEFORE THAT SKELETON CHASES US!"

Lelouch growled as his hand snatched Saber's tail to stop it, having now a growing headache, and his other hand shrugged Noctis' hand off his shoulder. He knew that going through the Florian Triangle would be exciting as the stories sailors would tell were all the more mysterious and strange, but Saber and the twins going crazy become of some singing skeleton? Was it even worth the headache right now?

"All of you, calm the hell down!" Lelouch exclaimed loudly, pulling at Saber's tail. Then he looked at the drifting galleon, his pupils having grown back to normal. "Singing skeleton, eh? Well, it's going to wait until we get our business done in Alabasta. We don't have much time on our hands for now! Why are you all going mad because of this, anyway?"

After this, he spent more than three hours having to reassure the twins, whose nerves have been tested. Had he been more grounded and rational, he would have been very upset at this encounter with this skeleton; the rational Lelouch Lamperouge would have insulted everyone would claim to have seen something like this, but Canterbury Lelouch had abandoned all common sense ever since he decided to take that second wind as his ultimate chance to live and have the full, happy life he should have had.

But still, they had to get back to the Florian Triangle at some point – that skeleton, Moriah's ship being somewhere, and that mysterious silhouette with shining eyes... they were worth investigating, but not now. Alabasta was the priority and 'helping' the princess to save her kingdom was another side goal.

* * *

"It's getting worse and worse," Lelouch commented as he read the later news on the newspapers, delivered this morning by the News Coo. His frown deepened when he read that many soldiers of the royal army had left to join the rebels – probably tricked by the real enemy because they must have felt 'betrayed' by their own king. "Baroque Works sure thought of every detail in this plan, I'm actually surprised at the severity of the situation. Crocodile shouldn't be taken lightly because of this, it's going to be very difficult to stop this madness."

Nasse was conflicted as she gazed into the distance. The navigator had told them that they were finally approaching Alabasta, after days and days of travelling with only docking very few times when it was absolutely urgent to restock their supplies. What will they find once they get there? Will Alubarna be in ruins and ashes by the time they'll make it to the capital? It was a bit stressful just to think that a Warlord's greed was the cause of all this...and for what purpose?

She gulped, blinking her blind eyes. Her lips quivered a little bit.

" _Please...let home be safe for now. At least for now."_

* * *

Lelouch, who was sporting a rather loose white shirt with the symbol of a widely smirking cat wearing a crown, pants that ended right past his knees, white shoes and black gloves, smiled when he finally spotted the long awaited island they've all been dying to see – especially Lelouch, who really couldn't contain his excitement at the idea of seeing Sphinx once again. He could already feel the familiar heat of the desert, he could almost picture his first master's house, where he first began his training. Nanohana... those were good memories.

"Land ho! Look what I just found!" he shouted to the others, uncharacteristically ecstatic and his eyes shining with excitement. "We've finally arrived at Nanohana, guys... hm?" he mused as his well-trained eyes noticed another ship that was anchored not far from the port, partly hidden.

The Jolly Roger was unknown to him, but the black sails confirmed that this ship belonged to pirates. As for the Jolly Roger, he'd never seen a skull with a straw-hat on its head, so the crew might still be new. In other terms, rookies for now. Lelouch hummed as he looked at their ship with a critical gaze, crossing his arms. It had already withstood some damages, but the caravel seemed overall still a bit alright – now, he was no shipwright, but he knew for sure that a small caravel such as this one would never stand the waves of Paradise and those from the New World would just smash it into pieces in minutes.

But still, the Jolly Roger looked nice. And kind of... amusing.

"Aaaaaah, some pirates are joining the fun in Alabasta?" Saber said with a wide smile, stroking his sword with a hand and holding... a cane in the other. "Cool, the more the merrier. Here, that's for you!" he declared as he tossed the cane at Lelouch, who deftly caught it.

The navigator looked confused as he inspected it. The cane looked both solid and stylish, having an eagle's head made of silver as the base and pommel – something a wealthy aristocrat would use, but not him. He looked up at his friend, raising a brow as a question. Saber rolled his eyes with a smile.

"It's not just a cane to use when you'll grow old, you jack-o-lantern," he admonished lightly, amused. "It's a cane-sword, created in Coral Village just for you. A gift, the blacksmith said," he added as a precision. "Figure you could use some weapon combined with the multiple martial arts you excel in and mastered."

Ah. That was pretty thoughtful of Saber, and actually nice from the blacksmith. Looking back at his new weapon, Lelouch took out the sword, admiring the blade. It was sharp and well polished, though he'd have to take care of it now (it was a good thing that Sphinx taught him how to use weapons such as knives, daggers and other stuff back when he was still under his tutelage. That may prove to be useful in this battle for Alabasta's freedom and rebirth). Smiling, he thanked his hybrid friend as he sheathed the sword.

"Now... have you ever seen this Jolly Roger before?" Saber asked as he inspected the ship as well. "It looks cool, more inviting than most of the others that exist – even though Whitebeard's is the coolest with its mustache."

"Not at all, so there's a slight chance we might run into those pirates in the desert," Lelouch said as he went to drop the anchor. "Whoever they are, I don't know if they came here to make things worse or not, and we still have no clue of the princess' return to her beloved country. Might as well scan the area to find her. But before that, we need to get outfits for all of us; that heat is going to be our doom if we don't protect our skin from the harsh sun of the desert – especially _you_ , monkey!" he said as he pointed to Saber, nearly hitting him with his gloved finger. He narrowed his eyes at an innocent-looking Sabertooth. "You're from a winter island, so the heat will roast you like meat in minutes and even though your tuft has absorbed enough cold to last months, you're still going to wear robes, understood?"

Smiling widely, the hybrid nodded twice to show that he got the point. The twins came to join them on deck, looking awed to see the port of Nanohana once again after all these years spent away (again, it was weird to think and be aware that Nasse could see by using her brother's sight through their unique bond. Weird, but very unique). They could notice the changes, but there must be hope to be reconnected to their native country; one does not simply forgets his origins, no matter how many years he spent away from his land.

Now that everyone seemed ready to go, Lelouch nimbly jumped on the railing, smiling once again. He swung his weapon expertly in his hands, staring ahead.

"Alright... let's land, everyone!"

* * *

 **Author's Note 2:** Alabasta... _finally_!


	7. Somewhere I Belong

**Author's Note 1:** Yup, Alabasta Arc, finally! Now, let's see how I can make the Strawhats and Lelouch's group meet and get to an understanding. Maybe not in this chapter, though. And yes, the twins are staying for the long haul.

 **Author's Note 2:** … oh yeah, there's Smoker and Tashigi.

* * *

 **Chapter Seven:** _Somewhere I Belong_

* * *

 _That ain't right_

 _My god ain't right_

 _Fear me not needed_

* * *

Lelouch never thought he'd admit it, but he felt far from serene right now; his eyes, most of the time so serious, were now shining with barely concealed excitement as they took in the familiar sandy environment he left thirteen years ago. Thirteen years was a very long time, and even though Nanohana didn't seem to have changed after he left the country with Vergo, the navigator also felt a little overwhelmed by all these emotions in his mind.

 _Alabasta_. Warm, once welcoming Alabasta where everything started. With Sphinx. Somehow it felt good to be back here, but on the other hand, he was a little apprehensive of what his old master would say after years of silence from his student; he didn't know whether Vergo had updated the older man on his progress in his training or not, but Lelouch will admit that his decision to go to Alabasta was to see how princess Vivi intended to stop Crocodile's schemes, considering that she'd even infiltrated Baroque Works willingly. Surely she must have a good plan to counter the cunning Warlord, but something in his guts told him that it wouldn't meet his expectations.

She didn't know anything about warfare and consequences, sacrifices to get something desired. That was what Lelouch actually dreaded with her; although he hadn't gotten to know more about princess Vivi in the past, mainly because he hadn't been interested in getting to know a royal (who could have been rotten, for all he knew), he had guessed that she'd been living a very sheltered life inside the walls of her palace and would want nothing more than peace and fantasy. Being aware that many of her people would actually die to get what she wanted would break her, because she wasn't a war veteran with experience of Cornelia's caliber and could claim that she'd only want everyone to live. Crocodile would laugh at her face if she told him she'd stop the rebels from going to Alubarna – he'd literally _laugh_. If she thought that stopping the rebels would actually stop that Warlord, she was seriously wrong; if that was her plan, the country would be in ashes and ruins sooner than she expected and all she'd be able to do was cry her sorrow.

And Lelouch certainly didn't want that to happen. Not when he had a chance to see his old master again. After all these years, he owed Sphinx way too much to just overlook him while he was in the country. _Old man_ , he thought with a wistful smile, _I wish to hear your insults again. I'm back_.

Closing his left eye with a sigh, Lelouch reached in his pouch to get his eye-patch as he took a good look around town. Nanohana felt...alien to him. He hasn't seen this environment in years and even made sure not to get lost in memories of the Desert Kingdom because that could have disrupted his tough training with Vergo (and Doflamingo, whenever he'd get sent to him and his crew). He wasn't even sure if the people who have known Sphinx well before Lelouch landed in this world would recognize him, as he's grown to become this young man – the golden left eye might put them off at first, though. And during such rough times with a damn Warlord trying to be pictured as a hero, the rebels fomenting an assault on the capital and the princess who was back to stop an impeding doom with her childish ways, catching up wasn't on his mind right now.

But somehow, there was something very off in the air. Lelouch could feel it as he glanced up, frowning. The air wasn't _normal_. It wasn't just in the air, it spread all around him like it was surrounding all of Nanohana and even further – Katorea, Yuba, Rainbase and all the way to Alubarna. He didn't like this atmosphere, it definitely didn't feel like thirteen years ago. As an expert navigator, Lelouch could tell that the sandstorms just wouldn't be natural, mainly due to Crocodile's Sand-Sand Fruit; as a Warlord, the bastard must be very adept at fighting with his Devil Fruit powers and since they were located in a desert with plenty of sand to play with, everyone was stepping in his domain and could face a deadly, unforgiving burial in the quicksand this guy could generate. It would be so easy: he had purposely turned Alabasta into his playground so he could work on his secret projects in peace, so any fool who would take him on would die a cruel death. Without a solid knowledge of Haki or his weakness, being any liquid form, there was little to no chance of winning against him. In this situation, princess Vivi was the fool.

 _Damn_. This might not end well if she didn't have an ace up her sleeve. Or someone who actually knew anything about warfare and consequences that could help in this predicament – it wasn't like Lelouch had actually 'agreed' to help her out, all he wanted was observe how she intended to proceed. But it still wasn't going to end well, lives would be lost in this battle and many tears will be streaming down the cheeks of those who couldn't see past the deception sooner.

"Feels alien and familiar at the same time, huh?" Sabertooth had quietly come up behind him, tail swishing from side to side. His green eyes were observing his friend, wistful and understanding.

Lelouch nodded, tying up his eye-patch over his golden eye. "I've always known that I'd come back here sooner or later. I didn't know _when_ , the wait was starting to eat me alive and then _this_ happens." He sneered, tying his cane-sword behind his back with a sash. "The atmosphere of the country feels off, as if there was a malevolent power at work – might as well be Crocodile's greedy presence, because it makes me sick to my stomach to not recognize the country where everything started."

"I thought you only cared about your master, not Alabasta?" the monkey man inquired, arching a white brow in curiosity. His lips twitched, hinting at a smile upon his friend's hesitation. "Beside your old master, you said there was no one else but I've learnt to discern your lies...you don't like being attached to anybody, do you?"

 _No, Saber_ , Lelouch thought bitterly as he closed his right eye, a grim expression on his face, _I don't. And I paid the price of this way too many times_. He had so many memories of Alabasta he'd rather hide in a corner of his mind, mainly because there was the ultimate risk of losing any of the people he secretly cared about to the brewing war within the country; Ali, Pharaoh and Adma, Baala and even the old Rê – Sphinx – were some of those people he absolutely didn't want to lose in a senseless war that shouldn't happen in the first place. All this because a damn Warlord was probably looking for something, so the country had to burn to ashes.

The bastard was looking for a good beating. A bloody one Lelouch would be very glad to give, should any of his childhood friends die in this madness. They absolutely didn't deserve that.

Shaking his head, Lelouch pursed his lips as he looked at his friend. "No, I don't," he answered truthfully. But then he frowned at Saber. "I'm not going to lie, but I can't bear the thought of losing anyone close to me because that's a certain death they absolutely don't deserve; they're up against the malice of one of the seven Warlords of the Sea, their princess is one fool who must think of saving this country without anyone dying and all of them are too blind to face the truth – that Crocodile is two-faced and not the man he claims to be and that they've been fooled so easily. If I involve my friends in a war we can lose because we're too stupid to be prepared to face the consequences, I seriously need to consider the possibility of them losing their lives and I don't think Vivi is actually aware of this. Which is why someone needs to knock some sense and reality in her head before we lose Alabasta to a greedy pirate."

Nasse closed her unseeing eyes, her expression grim and somber. "Because people die," she said softly, her hand reaching out to grasp her twin's shoulder tightly. "If an all-out battle erupts in Alubarna, we can bet on our money that many soldiers will die for nothing. Baroque Works and Crocodile will make sure of it if princess Vivi doesn't change her aim. You were right, Lelouch: stopping the rebel army won't stop Crocodile and even if she manages to do that, he'll just find another way. There's _always_ another way: if you're indeed right and that his intentions are not to take over Alabasta but look for something the royal family may be hiding, then burning and destroying the country to the ground is the best way to find what you're looking for. Especially after fooling the Alabastans into trusting him and appearing as a praised hero in their eyes." Lelouch could see her hands shaking, sense her fear rise within her body, and he couldn't help but grasp her own shoulder to reassure the young woman. "You were right: she really has no idea who she's up against and her plan is so full of flaws and holes that it will be child's play to foil her. Princess Vivi... that _foolish_ princess..."

Sometimes, being right on almost everything hurt like a bitch – especially when people you loved were in great danger and didn't deserve that hell. Sphinx didn't deserve that, Pharaoh and Adma didn't deserve that – nobody in this country couldn't suffer the consequences of a Warlord's greed. The World Government chose to play dumb because they needed Crocodile's strength, but Lelouch was sure that if his misdeeds were brought forward to the Five Elders by a Marine whose sense of justice couldn't be corrupted, he'd be demoted and thrown into the last level of Impel Down to be forgotten.

And being right could also make you feel like drowning – exactly like Lelouch was feeling right now, upon seeing Nasse about to cry. Noctis was putting up a front, but the fear the navigator could sense from him wasn't a lie; the twins were obviously trying to rekindle with Alabasta, but the dire situation their native country was in right now was an obstacle that wasn't easy to overtake. It was on the verge of destruction because of one man's greed, and the feeling of hopelessness was growing stronger now that they've realized princess Vivi's foolishness over the position of Alabasta and Crocodile's. He had it all figured out, except her. Those golden eyes from Noctis were wide and terrified, threatening to let those unshed tears stream down his cheeks – and Lelouch wasn't having any of that. Not right now. He needed to find Vivi, knock some sense into her and even fight with her if need be. There were too many lives at stake, she wasn't taking the right way to take down a damn Warlord and was gambling. So, no.

Hell no.

Placing himself behind the twins, Lelouch grasped their shoulders tightly to get their attention. "Give yourself the right to cry, alright? You deserved it," he murmured to their ears only. He closed his eyes solemnly, listening to the building sobbing that was slowly shaking their bodies altogether. "But imagine the princess' pain at the realization of her own foolishness about this whole ordeal: she'll feel your pain and cry twice harder, but she needs to be confronted first. Understood?" When he felt them nod vigorously, Lelouch exhaled softly. "Good. I'm sure that she feels everyone's pain, because she knows it better than anyone else: Alabasta is slowly dying. But it can begin anew, as soon as this war is finished and Crocodile's deception is busted. Now," he opened his right eye. The purple color seemed to vibrate with energy flowing into the iris as Lelouch's power flared up slightly. "let's gather supplies and find ourselves a blue-haired princess."

* * *

Turns out that Lelouch didn't find Vivi first. No, he found someone even better than the foolish princess. But the question remained: what was this Marine officer doing in the Grand Line, in the Desert Kingdom of Alabasta when he was supposed to be back at Loguetown?

Lelouch stood calmly in front of Captain Smoker, arms crossed against his chest as he waited for the older man to talk. His purple eye stared back at the white-haired officer as his glaring gaze took in the younger man before him. The genius could only imagine what was going on in his mind right now, since he was known as Vice-Admiral Vergo's protege and expert navigator, but he knew that disturbing rumors had spread like wildfire among the ranks of the Marine soldiers about him being a cold genius and a mastermind sociopath that nobody would want as an enemy – part of it was absolutely true and he won't deny it. Smoker had his reasons not to trust him just because he was Vergo's apprentice, Lelouch was a nobody to him.

But he heard good things about Smoker: the man had a good sense of justice that seemed inflexible, different from Akainu's exaggerated and merciless 'absolute justice' that allowed him to see reason and think as a human being. Akainu was the definition of a merciless monster who had no soul, and the fact that he was an Admiral meant that he would have no qualms in killing anyone standing in his way – at least, only him would act this way. Not the two others. Smoker, Vice-Admiral Jonathan and Hina were, surprisingly, a breath of fresh air in the Marines (Vergo being a pirate and a traitor didn't count). Lelouch could appreciate the man, if given a chance.

Finally, after what seemed to be a long while, Smoker leaned forward in his seat to look up at Lelouch in the eyes. "Tell me," he asked in his rough voice, two smoking cigars in his mouth (Damn, that _actually_ explained his name). "what's the Cipher Pol prodigy doing in Alabasta while he should be elsewhere, considering a position in one of the strongest branches of the World Government?"

Lelouch fought really hard to conceal his surprise and remain emotionless. Christ, even _he_ had heard of this? The news couldn't have reached that far in the East Blue, and Smoker couldn't be that interested in his history to ask him this kind of question...could he?

But the genius smirked instead. "And what's Captain Smoker doing in Alabasta, in the Grand Line, when he should have remained back in _East Blue_? In Logue Town, where he's supposed to be based?" he clapped back, relishing in Smoker's small flinch. But his one-eyed gaze snapped to his young protege, Tashigi, who couldn't contain her small gasp. "Do your superiors know you're here?"

"That's none of your business, little runt. I'm here to arrest a pirate that's been on my nerves lately."

 _Oh?_ A Jolly Roger with a straw-hat flashed quickly in Lelouch's mind, smiling and probably laughing. He and Saber looked at each other in wonder, then turned back towards Smoker. The hybrid smiled toothily at the Marine officer. "A pirate, you say? Does this pirate have a straw-hat on his flag?"

The smoker's scowl deepened when the accessory was mentioned, as if it was the pirate's trademark object. Lelouch just knew they've hit the mark, judging by Smoker's rising tension – it wasn't fear, no. A little close to that. It must take a lot to scare people like Smoker or Hina. Even Tashigi right here was pretending to adjust her glasses to hide her own tension, looking away as she frowned. Saber fought hard to not show his confusion towards her, his green eyes flashing. Most swordsmen he knew were fierce and proud, had an imposing presence that intimidated the weak-willed ones (the swordsman's spirit, which was pretty similar to the Conqueror's Haki) and didn't really have to act tough to conceal their emotions. Dracule Mihawk was the embodiment of the ultimate swordsman. This wannabe swordsman right here looked...mousy and meek. Almost frail. But her reaction to the straw-hat was weird.

"Straw-Hat Luffy," Smoker almost growled, puffing on his cigars. "or also known as Monkey D. Luffy. He's a rookie who's just rose to infamy after defeating Arlong, a Fishman who's been reigning in East Blue for years. I've been after him since our short encounter back in Loguetown, where he... escaped. I've heard rumors that he and his crew were heading to Alabasta, so we came here to capture his cheeky ass."

Tashigi chose this moment to flare up to life. "And the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro as well!" she hissed fiercely, her eyes shining, but the next second she shut herself up when her superior's glare snapped up to her.

Ah, interesting. But that just didn't cut it: if what Lelouch heard about Smoker was true, it would take a lot more than just a 'rookie' to get him to leave East Blue and pursue the same pirate until he got his hands on him. The navigator arched a brow as he stared at the Marine officer, still suspicious. His tone implied a grudge suggesting that Smoker must have been really close to capturing this Luffy and was unable to only because of an interruption...or _something_. Whoever this Monkey D. Luffy was, there had to be something special about to make Smoker move out of Logue Town and East Blue altogether. As for Roronoa Zoro? Another unknown person who could be considered rather big and threatening later on by the World Government – if Smoker and Tashigi were _that_ determined to capture them, then they must have sensed the rising threat and potential danger they could become.

Lelouch nodded, flexing his gloved fingers. "Fine, I get that. That sort of explains your presence here for me, but I'm not convinced that will sit well with your superiors so I'll pass," he said, gaining the attention of everyone around him once again. He royally ignored Smoker's warning growl and put his hands in his pockets. "But you being here is also a good thing, since you could help this dying country by putting an end to Crocodile's business and his secret organization. What? Are you trying to tell me that you've been convinced by his act as the 'hero of Alabasta'? You're smarter than this, Smoker," he drawled with an annoyed scowl, enjoying the slowly building nerve on his temple.

"Damn it, Lelouch," Saber warned in a groan as he grabbed his friend's shoulder tightly, as if to prevent him from committing a grave mistake. "Calm down..."

"Cut to the chase, kids, or scram. Just because you're Vice-Admiral Vergo's proteges doesn't mean I can't put you in your place with a good beating." Energy seemed to flow around him as he slowly got up, towering over Lelouch with good inches but the navigator held his ground, glaring. Smoker's glare was murderous as he looked down at the younger man, smoke starting to surround them. "I don't know you personally, but you seem to be pretty informed about what's actually going on in this country – and also ready to kill someone despite you being so calm right now. So, are you going to tell me why you sought me out?"

Saber nearly took a step back when he felt the ominous, sinister aura Lelouch unconsciously spread around them as his scowl deepened even further, but willed himself not to. His green eyes flashed in slight panic as his mind processed what he was about to do – which could be the biggest and dumbest mistake his best friend would do right now, as they didn't need it. _No, not right now!_

His breath hitched a notch or two, and he forced his mind not to think of his deepest and most secret fears that he could suddenly trigger by accident. He took a huge breath, quickly moving his hand to grab Lelouch's neck. The hybrid shook his head, his eyes shut, and pushed back the nightmarish fears he had learnt to master years ago. If they needed Smoker's strength and his men out here to fight back against Baroque Works, the wielder of this blacklisted Devil Fruit had to be controlled. Saber murmured an apology to Lelouch, already frustrated and irritated enough by the whole situation.

Then he pressed the skin between the two sides of his friend's neck. _Very hard_.

The effect was immediate: Lelouch made a choked out sound as the muscles in his neck contracted to resist against the pressure of the fingers, his eyes going wide because of the pain. The cold and sinister aura vanished just as suddenly as it first appeared, and Saber held his breath for a second, staring at his friend with a stern, yet concerned expression. He didn't even lift his head to acknowledge Tashigi or Smoker just to check if they had felt the change in the atmosphere – since he didn't catch any gasp from either of them, they must have missed it – but he still secretly took a glance at the Marine officer; the older man hadn't budged, but was watching them curiously. Behind, the twins looked on with conflicted expressions, their gazes upon Lelouch's bent form as he struggled to calm down.

The hybrid sighed tiredly, lifting his head to stare at Smoker. "Lelouch hails from Alabasta," he started as his grip on his friend's neck just tightened a wee little bit to prevent him from going mad, even though he was actually contorting to free himself from his hold. "He might not show it and probably would deny it on his deathbed, but he's concerned about the state of this country because of Crocodile's presence and wrongdoing. There are people he cares about that will certainly die because of this Warlord. Plus, we have theories that he might be up to something even bigger than taking over Alabasta."

Smoker was silent for a few seconds, pondering Saber's words as he looked down at the young swordsman. Then he started to walk away, mentioning for them to follow him with a nod. The hybrid sighed in relief, releasing Lelouch's neck and allowing him to breathe properly; the navigator's knees nearly buckled under him as his body was racked by coughing fit, his fingers stroking the sore skin of his neck. Saber hadn't been kind, but that was what he actually needed to be calmed down if need be – struck him hard until he felt a great pain to snap out of it. The Terror-Terror Fruit could still take over his mind if he kept being this careless and couldn't control his emotions.

Nevertheless, he sent his monkey friend a silent thank you before standing up once again, panting a little. His eye met Tashigi's disturbed gaze, who had been studying him for a few minutes now – probably because he'd tried to contort his way out of Saber's painful grip. He frowned at her, nursing his neck. " _What_?" he croaked out, making her jump in surprise. "Can't I feel upset and angry because of what's going on?"

"You _can_ , and we respect that," Saber hissed furiously in his ear, pulling him along to follow Smoker. "but you have to keep your head and your calm. Of all of us right now, you're the smartest and most cunning that has a higher chance to overthrow this fucked up situation in the blink of an eye if you put your head in it. Don't attack Smoker because you can't control yourself, Lelouch. Don't we need him on our side right now?"

Lelouch gave an affirmative grunt, taking one last gulp of air to finally calm his nerves. Saber was right for once: he seriously needed to keep his cool in this situation because Crocodile wasn't the only problem they've got – Vivi was a problem on her own, the World Government hunting him down was a problem, almost _everything_ was a goddamn problem, starting with his Devil Fruit. As if being blacklisted actually wasn't enough.

Grunting, he went on ahead to match Smoker in his strides. "Have you seen princess Vivi in the area?" he asked, looking around the different shops of Nanohana as if hoping to catch a glimpse of blue hair somewhere. "I have reliable sources that informed she'd return to Alabasta in order to stop Crocodile, but...she just doesn't know who she's up against. I think she's going to get killed like an idiot."

The Marine officer blew out a cloud of smoke before answering. "So do I. I saw her earlier near the port of the town when my team was chasing Straw-Hat and his crew before we were... _interrupted_ by someone more problematic." There was a bitter tone in his voice that made Lelouch raise a curious eyebrow. "They must have left Nanohana by now, so you've just missed them."

"So she came back home with those pirates in tow? I hope she didn't become one during her journey with them, otherwise it would be a good motive to have her arrested even though she's a royal," Saber stated with a grimace. He was shading his eyes with a hand, trying to block the harsh sun. "And even though she came back to fight for her country, it wouldn't matter to the World Government. As a matter of fact, what the hell is the World Government even doing about this situation? Just because Crocodile is one of their precious dogs doesn't mean that they have to let Alabasta, home to one of the royal families and founding members of their organization, fall in his hands. Surely they must have a clue as to what he's actually doing to this land?"

Lelouch snorted in derision, walking towards a stand that sold robes. "Oh, but they do. And the fact that Crocodile is one of their best assets explains their lack of action, Saber: just like the Riku family who met their unfortunate doom at the hands of Doflamingo, the Nefeltaris won't get any help from the World Government because that would mean breaching their contract with one of their Warlords. And if they do that, they would have to revoke Crocodile's title and that would leave his place vacant. Each of them is a force to fear – they're no amateurs. You see, the Warlords of the Sea _always_ have to be seven for some reason, and if something were to happen to one of them – hi, I'll take four traveling robes, please," he said as he gave the smiling woman some money. He returned the smile when he was handed four robes, neatly folded. "Thank you. OK, as I was saying, if something were to happen to one of them, a meeting would be held to decide which pirate would replace the fallen Warlord." His purple eye looked at Saber, Smoker Tashigi and the twins. "The World Government are a bunch of selfish, righteous bastards who don't really care about a whole country being destroyed by one of their own. If anything, they'd happily let it happen..."

"... or even orchestrate it," Tashigi finished in a whisper, having gone white and feeling sick. She stole a troubled look at her superior but he wasn't even looking at her. No, he was intently staring at Lelouch with such an emotionless gaze that made it absolutely impossible for her to read his thoughts. What this handsome young man was saying was really disturbing, and she didn't know whether she should bash his words for insulting the World Government or not, because that was downright insolent. Smoker wasn't even correcting him, meaning that he was somehow agreeing. She looked at his friends, only to see that they were also sporting the same expression as her superior. _Even they aren't this stupid to think that they're the good guys_ , she thought with a start.

Lelouch nodded at her, handing his friends their robes. The face of a young boy sporting a white fur-hat with freckles, hateful grey eyes and a sickly complexion because of his sickness flashed in his mind, for a brief second. He blinked rapidly, trying to erase that memory. "Well, the World Government must not care about their Warlords since they're just regarded as assets to them and can be easily replaced, but they sure as hell will turn a blind eye over their assets' activities – like they're doing with Crocodile or Doflamingo. The Nefeltaris can scream for help or cry all they want, they won't send anyone to save them. And if by any chance – as miraculous and ridiculous as it could sound – Crocodile were to be defeated by a pirate, they'll just cover up the whole ordeal and give the credit to one of their allies. A Marine who just happened to be in Alabasta, for example. It's cruel, but the honest truth." Lelouch met Smoker's eyes, where he could decipher a silent, almost imperceptible and mutual understanding. "After all, we all know that even though the Warlords have allied themselves with the World Government, they still remain pirates at the end of the day."

There was a disturbed silence for a moment, in which nobody dared to speak as they were all processing Lelouch's words. Tashigi, for her part, was really troubled as she slowly dropped to a crouching position, unable to remain standing. She felt rather numb and awed, stupid and so... _cheated_. When she joined the Marines, it was about making a difference and give her own justice to all pirates – much like Smoker, she didn't share Admiral Akainu's 'Absolute Justice' and preferred Admiral Aokiji's moral justice because it allowed her to see reason and the difference between right and wrong. But with Lelouch's on point analysis of the World Government and its behaviour towards people and countries supposed to be under their jurisdiction, she just felt...

 _Disgusted_. _Sick to her stomach_. **Idiotic**.

Her vision of the world and people was still too naive to be taken seriously and as an aspiring swordsman claiming to reunite the twelve deadliest swords ever forged, Tashigi needed to grow and mature. If she still wanted to defeat Roronoa Zoro, take his Wado Ichimonji from him and fight all those who owned those legendary swords, she absolutely needed to believe in her sense of justice and grow stronger. Thus, she had to start by getting a better understanding of the leading organizations – the Marines, the World Government... there was a long and complexed story of corruption shrouding them and she didn't want to hear it from Lelouch. No, she really didn't want to.

"Captain Smoker, I'm guessing that princess Vivi is currently heading towards the base of operations of the rebels in order to stop them, even though I'm persuaded that wouldn't solve anything at all," she heard Lelouch say and she numbly lifted her head. He had an annoyed scowl marring his handsome face. "Apparently they're based in Yuba, which is pretty far from our position. However, I don't think they'll stay there for long. If you choose to continue pursuing the Strawhats, I suggest you make way for Rainbase to confront Crocodile directly."

Smoker blinked, then took a step towards the genius. "Lelouch...just _how much_ do you know about what's really going here?" he demanded.

"Ever heard of a criminal organization named Baroque Works?"

* * *

Not too far from their position, two brown-haired twins wearing robes with bright sparkling brown eyes and cat-like features were spying on the little group from afar. Hiding behind someone's stall just so they wouldn't be seen, their intense gazes were studying the young man with the dark hair. The Marine guy didn't count, not even the monkey man (hybrid?) and that navy blue-haired girl with the glasses and the sword – she looked too frail and weak to know how to wield any sword. No, the only that counted was the man with the purple eye, the familiar scowl and the intimidating and strange presence around him.

Years ago, there was only one boy who could strike such nervousness and fear in one annoyed glare at you. And now, years later, he was finally back. He grew, matured and changed physically, but that man _had_ to be him.

Could it be that he came back because he believed that Crocodile was sucking their country dry until they destroyed each other? Or...had he come back because he's finally heard that Sphinx had passed?

Pharaoh and Adma looked at each other excitedly and hopefully, then a wide smile broke out on their identical faces – the first real one ever since that asshole of a Warlord appeared in Alabasta, proclaimed himself their hero and deceived the whole population.

"He's back... Lelouch's back, Pharaoh!" Adma whispered frantically, tears starting to gather up in his eyes.

His twin nodded very slowly, as if he still couldn't believe it. "After all these years...," he whispered back, holding up his own tears. The boy he had looked up to in the past – and still did – had come back for them; from what he and Adma have heard, Lelouch was explaining to the two Marine soldiers what he's uncovered from Crocodile's deception and telling them to go directly to Rainbase, where he was residing. Pharaoh wanted to cry out in relief. Thank you, gods of Alabasta, his childhood friend was one of those who've seen through the Warlord's deception!

But then, his joy turned to pure _rage_. His features hardened faster than he'd yell ' _Bastard!_ ' and he clenched his fists, soon shaking so hard he almost couldn't contain it. After all these years, Lelouch didn't have the balls to come and meet them first, just to reassure them all that he hadn't died somewhere? The _bastard_. Not even one call because Sphinx had jinxed their chances of staying in touch by stating that Lelouch should just forget him, not even one letter sent to talk about his adventures in the New World and his training with that Marine guy? Damn. Ali cried his eyes out when he heard from Sphinx that his only student had left one day without saying goodbye, Adma had been upset for at least a month and would refuse to even hear his name around him, old Grandma Rê lost her smile – a smile Lelouch had somehow been able to give back ever since Grandpa Akhmet died. And Pharaoh?

He chose to remain secretly angry and bitter. He thought that seeing Lelouch again years after such a long time spent apart and oceans away would make things better, but... no, they had too much to settle and talk about. Plus, the situation with Crocodile was just too important right now to catch up with an old friend and try to rip him apart with intentions of hurting him.

"Tashigi!" Smoker suddenly called out to his subordinate, souding resolute. "Gather all the men, we're going to Rainbase! _Right now_!"

"Yes, sir!" she responded, saluting for a second before dashing off to find the rest of the present Marines in Nanohana.

He turned toward Lelouch and his new friends, surveying the genius for a few silent seconds. "If you're right about everything you've just said, Lelouch, you might have to get involved in this war to save this country instead of staying neutral," he told him severely. "I heard a lot of things about you, most of them very disturbing, but I'd like to see for myself if they're actual facts; if you're as strong and powerful as the cold mastermind sociopath you're portrayed, then you should be more than able to take down Crocodile all by yourself. Especially if you're a very proficient Haki user."

Lelouch didn't look that convinced. "But still: he's a Warlord, a Logia type and a veteran from the New World to boot. If anything, the desert is his playground. I'll need to be extra careful should I take him out, although it isn't just my fight only. It's also Vivi's. And this country's. This is Alabasta against Crocodile. Whichever wins will determine the other's fate. Which means death for the loser. Either Alabasta or Crocodile." Pharaoh and Adma flinched as they both looked at each other in fear, their breathing coming to an abrupt halt as they processed Lelouch's words. "Now go, we'll catch up in no time. Godspeed."

Smoker didn't need to be told twice as he nodded and left in brisk strides, leaving the small group alone. Then, when Pharaoh thought about tackling his old friend and beating him to a pulp, he was left frozen on his spot by Lelouch's cool voice.

"Now Pharaoh and Adma, are you two coming out so we can talk about saving your country?" he said, turning towards them with a serious look.

For the five seconds the two were staring at each other, there was only two words that kept echoing in Pharaoh's mind. And they only served to make the young Alabastan even angrier at his friend.

 _'Your country?_ _Your... country?'_

This time, Pharaoh did bolt to punch Lelouch in the face. And surprisingly enough, his fist connected with his jaw alright. As hard as he could with his rage, because he knew that this genius bastard would trash him with just one strike to a specific spot on his body. The other pair of twins around him cried out in shock, Adma yelled his name in disbelief, the monkey man just frowned in curiosity while Lelouch merely took a step back to catch himself, holding his sore jaw with a gloved hand. The force of the blow still made him skid on the sandy ground, but he didn't even look hurt that much – had he really grown _that_ stronger with all the insane training he had with Sphinx? Unless...he let him land a hit on purpose.

 _Your country_ , he fumed silently as he panted, his fists still aching to hurt. His glare hardened even more as it drilled holes in Lelouch's form, probably wishing to kill him on the spot right now. _Your country_.

Pharaoh couldn't even fight the urge to laugh incredulously at those insulting words. "Lelouch, are you being serious right now?!" he shouted at him, his brown eyes blazing with unconcealed fury. "'Your country'? This is how you label the land that protected and cared for you for three years before that Marine guy took you away? You heartless, whack genius!" he howled before launching himself at Lelouch.

This time, Lelouch blocked his second punch too easily by intercepting it with his arm and struck a point on the inside of his elbow – all this in just three miserable seconds during which Pharaoh couldn't feel any feeling in his whole forearm. The limb just fell miserably on his side, useless and strangely heavy. So, in his disbelief, he tried with his other arm; since he had a larger built than Lelouch, he had a higher chance to knock him out. Blocked as well. And also very easily.

Lelouch held him up with his own strength which was, very surprisingly, matching his. How could that frail-looking genius grow so much stronger? "Damn it, Pharaoh," he growled out. His purple eye flashed dangerously and for a very brief second, Pharaoh swore he saw it turn to bright gold. "We don't have time for this, Alabasta is in great danger!"

"Oh, now you refer to our country as 'Alabasta'?" the bigger man spat angrily, trying to unblock his arm so he could beat Lelouch. "And you think I don't know it's in great danger because that damn Warlord is trying to destroy it from within?"

"Pharaoh!" he heard Adma scream, along with his rushed footsteps right behind him. "Pharaoh, have you lost your mind?! Let him go!" When his twin brother tried to take a hold of him, there was the metallic, singing sound of a sword being drawn out of its sheath, the sharp inhaling of breath and a frightened gasp he recognized all too much: feeling his heart drop in his stomach, Pharaoh slowly turned his head to see his brother being held close to him, the blade of Lelouch's friend's sword to his neck where his pulse was.

The monkey man had a blank look on his face, and the way he was holding this sword against Adma's neck implied his ability to fight and, more than anything, kill. He could slice his brother's throat in less than a second and be done with it, Pharaoh probably wouldn't have time to save him.

"Saber, calm down," Lelouch admonished casually, his visible eye never straying from Pharaoh's pale face. Then he sighed, drawing attention from everyone around him; he was sporting a forlorn expression that implied his guilt over being silent for the thirteen years he had passed away from Alabasta. "I guess I deserved that one, hence why I let you punch me this one time. But certainly not twice, Pharaoh." His eye narrowed painfully for a second, then an almost pleading expression smoothed his face. " _Please_ , my friend? If you still know me, then you should know I absolutely mean no harm to Alabasta or anyone. You should know I'm here to help take down this bastard and restore peace in the country."

"You shouldn't beg an idiot who's more focused on beating you up because you didn't give him any news instead of asking for your help to save your country, Lelouch," Saber coldly cut in, baring his teeth at Adma who glared back at him. "Where do his priorities lie right now?"

"Have you forgotten that you actually have somewhere to belong to, Lelouch?" Pharaoh hollered, turning red in the face. "Alabasta is your country as much as it's ours, don't you ever forget that! Don't insult us by calling your native land as 'country'!"

"We don't have time for this, Pharaoh," Lelouch persisted in a hiss, even though his face was starting to twitch a little. "Either you let us go to Alubarna so we can devise a plan to outsmart Crocodile, or you let the bastard drown Alabasta in its blood and ruins. _Your choice_."

The emphasis on the last words was strong enough to make Pharaoh give up on beating Lelouch, since the threat on their beloved land was just too much to handle – just imagining Alabasta on fire, with all the land completely destroyed or bathing in blood would have his mind all twisted. After all, the World Government did have one island in the West Blue buster called without any mercy, and that was a fate the Desert Kingdom didn't deserve. The muscles relaxed slowly, he exhaled heavily and let his valid arm fall back next to his side, allowing his childhood friend to let his guard down – or so he thought: his expression still didn't soften one bit and had hardened a little more.

Now this was a glimpse of the Lelouch he used to know in the past. But Pharaoh couldn't really tell if he still existed or had been swallowed by this new Lelouch that had a strange and powerful aura surrounding him. It seriously creeped the hell out of him.

The monkey man put his sword away from Adma, who breathed a little better now that he didn't have a blade so close to slicing his throat, and sheathed his weapon back into its sheath. Then he walked toward Lelouch and the red-haired twins, looking at him with a serious gaze. "We need to go," he told Lelouch, who nodded absent-mindedly at him. "Alubarna or Rainbase, depending on where the whole final battle will take place?"

The navigator bent down to pick up the robes he had let go of. "Alubarna. I'm sure that wiping out the capital where the royal palace stands is the starting-point to destroy the country from within. By doing this, he'll cripple Alabasta for good and crush everyone's spirit. Baroque Works, the royal and the rebel armies will be fighting there to death, the last two parties confused and blinded. As for Rainbase...let's leave it to Smoker and his men. Vivi will most likely go there to confront Crocodile directly once she realizes that her own plan is doomed to fail miserably."

"Then we should go!" the red-haired man with the cat-like features – obviously an Alabastan like his blind sister – exclaimed, slapping a hand on Lelouch's shoulder to shake it slightly. He looked very concerned, alarmed even.

"Agreed. It's good that we prepared supplies before setting foot on land, that's going to be a long journey to Alubarna – we might even have to stop by Rainbase to restock..."

That was when Adma found his tongue, after helping his brother back up. "Hey, wait a second Lelouch!" he shouted, feeling light-headed from all the disturbing, cold words flowing out of his friend's mouth.

But he was ignored as the navigator barely glanced at him, putting on his robes. "...and eventually run into Vivi and her friends. If she decides to go to Rainbase to confront Crocodile directly, then someone must have slapped her with reality and the cold truth; that she can't win her like that, that she should expect casualties from her side. Pharaoh, Adma," he called as he turned towards them, an apologetic expression set on his face. "let's meet after this mess is over, OK? I'll see you later with Sphinx. Then, we can catch up."

He turned seconds before he could catch the painful expression on the twins' faces and even left before they could call his name. Pharaoh felt his heart drum wildly against his chest as tears rapidly gathered in his eyes. His voice died down his throat, all cracked – he'd start sobbing even before he could tell Lelouch about his old master's fate. _Sphinx_. God, Lelouch still didn't know that Sphinx wasn't there with them anymore. And just how was he supposed to hear about the old man being dead? Should they just scream it and wreak havoc in his head, right when he was devising a plan to take down Crocodile? A relaxed Lelouch devising plans was dangerous enough, but just _how_ dangerous and ruthless could he turn out to be if he was mentally shaken up and teased to kill once upset?

Pharaoh turned towards his brother, just to agree on doing something or not, and got a firm shake of his head and a very pained expression. _No_. No, they should shut the fuck up for now. As much as they'd like Lelouch to know about his former master's death, they couldn't fuck with his head while their country was about to explode into a gigantic bloodbath. Adma covered his mouth just as a strangled sob escaped him, looking away from his twin, and Pharaoh grounded his teeth, bowing his head with closed eyes. Just how much had their friend changed over the years to be startled by Sphinx's death? Would it affect him as much as it affected everyone else who knew the old Alabastan? King Cobra had been shaken up, probably even more than everyone else for some reason, Pharaoh and Adma had been pretty upset (they even started blaming Lelouch for leaving, because they needed someone to take it all out at the time), Baala and Ali had had trouble overcoming it, coupled with their childhood friend leaving Alabasta after just three years, and old Rê fell into deep depression. Like Lelouch, Sphinx was some sort of bright sun that made everything funnier and brighter – not that they were miserable.

"I'm so, so sorry, Lelouch," Pharaoh croaked out, tears streaming down his cheeks. This time Adma, who felt his pain, couldn't take it anymore and finally broke down sobbing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Unbeknowst to them, someone actually heard them with the help of Observation Haki. Maybe he shouldn't have, but the hurt behind Pharaoh's voice and the way it was directed at his best friend in front of him made him feel cold inside – and it was a very unwelcome feeling right now. The muted horror written on his face could tell that he had a pretty good idea as to what the twins were referring to, and if he told Lelouch right now, there was a good chance he would snap and just murder every single Baroque Works agent just to drown the sadness and whatever guilt he may feel. If he told him, there would be a lot of blood spilled just to 'cool off' because that would be the only way to keep him active in this situation – had it been otherwise, he'd have just meditated to deal with the rising bloodlust inside him due to his ability.

 _Fuck_ , was all he could think of as he fell into step with his friend. Off to the desert they go.

* * *

"Sandora lizards," Lelouch said after ten minutes in the desert. Green eyes and two other pairs shot up to him in curiosity. "They're giant lizards that prey around here, hunting in pairs in the desert, so let's be careful. I think they'd make a good meal should we run out of supplies."

"Is it tastier than roasted chicken?" Noctis asked with a raised brow. "Because I absolutely can't remember, for the life of me, how lizard actually tasted."

Lelouch chuckled heartily. "It's actually tasty. I remember eating some chops with my master back when we'd run into the desert to build up my stamina, that was nutritive enough to feed me for two whole days."

"Well, you did look like a small pretzel a few years back," Sabertooth muttered, uncoiling his long tail. His mood still hasn't cleared, soured and miffed from what he had discovered in Nanohana with the twins, and he wasn't even ready to tell his best friend about it. "And now, you're a fear-inducting jack-o-lantern."

"How do you go from a pretzel to a jack-o-lantern? That's two different things. And you used to look like a small elf with a monkey tail and big pointed ears," Lelouch fired back gently, rolling his eyes.

And that was how their journey in the desert started; kind insults to kill time, laughter to cheer up the atmosphere and shared anecdotes (mostly Lelouch and Saber, since the twins didn't want to talk about the Blacken Serenade circus for now). Sabertooth still decided to remain silent about Sphinx, mainly because that would trigger murderous intentions his friend would need to release in great amounts of killing and they needed him sane _and_ in his right mind. They couldn't risk having more innocent lives wasted in this long-awaited battle with Crocodile and Baroque Works.

* * *

"So, Lelouch," Noctis started as they climbed down a sand dune. "what's your relationship to the princess of Alabasta? You talk about her as if you already know how her mind works."

It was no wonder the twins were curious; Sabertooth already knew what he needed to know about his friend's relationship with Vivi and wouldn't really care about further details – acquaintances, not friends. Sheltered little girl who would need to learn more about the world. _Idiot_. Ditz. But could become a good queen since she hadn't seemed rotten to him.

There was a serene expression on his face as he answered. "That's because she was pretty easy to read as a young girl. But then again, I'm pretty sure the dumbest pirate could see that her plan to stop the rebellious army is stupid and that she should directly strike at the source of the conflict. Well," he hummed again as he looked up to the sky. "I can't say that we've become friends in the past, because I hate royals, but I think we're acquaintances. We merely used to hang out together whenever Sphinx decided to visit the king and do whatever they had to do – maybe chess, that was the only thing he was ever stupid at. She did want to be friends, but I turned her down because she initially said I was crazy to be Sphinx's student and follow his training."

"Well, you turned out alright – minus the dark Devil Fruit part," Noctis joked, chuckling a little bit. He seemed to be a little more comfortable around Lelouch by the minute, which he found to be a good thing. "But you seem to hide more than you actually show."

"The best part of someone's skills is the secrecy about the most devastating attacks that can literally end you in a matter of seconds, so yes, I'm probably hiding more things about me you'll never get to know. Anyway, Vivi got mad when I replied that she was an idiot for not understanding why I wanted to become strong – of course, how do you want a princess to understand your point of view when she's living a very sheltered life and seven years your junior? I needed to find myself in this world, so staying in Alabasta wasn't going to be of any help. Maybe Pell and Chaka, two great warriors of this country, told her that I might have been out of my mind to be trained by a mad man such as Sphinx, but I didn't expect her to actually get the point. I'd usually wander around the palace and she'd follow me around, along with her guardians. Since Chaka and Pell didn't know me too well at the time, they were very reluctant to leave their precious princess with me, but that was all right."

"Why?" Nasse asked as she frowned a little, skillfully avoiding a baby lizard that had poked its head out of the sand.

"Because she'd go out of her way to try the moves I've been taught and they'd try to talk her out of it. Can you imagine, their precious princess 'trying to train'? Hilarious."

* * *

The Green City was gone. Destroyed by the sand. The drought caused by the damn Dance Powder Crocodile had brought to this country had ravaged Erumalu to the point that it was left in ruins, and all its citizens must have run to the nearest town – Nanohana, since Yuba was a little bit further. This was a very sad view offered by the devastating power of the Dance Powder, which would explain the rebel army's desire to kill the one responsible for destroying Alabasta – according to them, king Cobra.

The fact that they got it all wrong was probably making Crocodile overly ecstatic.

And Lelouch remembered strolling into the Green City, amazed and awed by the sheer luxury of the greenery in the middle of the desert. It wasn't even a mirage, it was real, fresh grass. Erumalu was _beautiful_. The citizens were all kind and welcoming, thinking that he was either courageous or insane to take on the challenge that was Sphinx's training. As he strolled inside the ruined town, he remembered talking to some other children who were curious about him; a boy with features that screamed 'aristocracy', insanely sharp and intelligent, and brave enough to follow Sphinx's training sure surprised a lot of people in Alabasta. Even though he hadn't wanted to attach himself to other people, mainly due to his previous experience as Lelouch Lamperouge in his native world, he gradually became attached to some of the children who used to live in the Green City.

Pharaoh and Adma, Baala and Ali used to live in Erumalu. And the only thing the navigator knew was that they deeply loved their town and lost everything, because of the damn Warlord's greed and his search for something.

 _That_ was enough to trigger a strong desire to kill within Lelouch's mind. There were just too many reasons to confront Crocodile and try to murder him for killing the country from within – the Dance Powder used to dry up the land and prevent the rain from falling, the deception that led to the distrust of the whole population towards their own king, his Sand-Sand Fruit that has been driving everyone crazy for three whole years. And for what? Something that might or might not be in this country? This was bloody ridiculous. No innocent lives should be involved into some lunatic's plans to destroy an entire kingdom along with the country it ruled on, and that was what princess Vivi was attempting to prevent. But her way was just wrong, _so_ wrong.

As his silent rage kept boiling inside, Lelouch's keen eyesight noticed something white poking out of the sand, near a broken building. Despite already knowing what it was, he slowly walked towards the object to extract a skull. Behind him, Saber couldn't hide his anger anymore.

"Even though it isn't my country, I feel your pain and your rage, Lelouch, Noctis, Nasse," he sneered, his green eyes flashing. "Had this Dance Powder been brought to Zaran-Zara Island and destroyed it like this town, _my_ _native home_ where my whole family lives, I would have murdered the culprit without even a second thought. Be it a Warlord or not, the culprit would have died from my hands. Hey, how are you holding up?" he then asked softly to the twins, turning towards them.

Lelouch didn't even have to turn towards Noctis and Nasse, he could easily hear the only woman in their little group sobbing as quietly as possible. As Lelouch dully stared down at the crane he was holding, he imagined the previously alive person whose crane he had in his hands, smiling and even laughing before the disaster that hit the Green City in full force. That person must have been so carefree and unaware of what had been coming her way... and now seeing that she or he ended up in this unfortunate and unfair state after the tragedy of Erumalu during Crocodile's onslaught was sickening.

The sound of crushing almost startled everyone as the crane shattered between Lelouch's gloved fingers, severely weakened by being in the sand for so long. However, the navigator looked disturbingly unperturbed as he just silently watched the pieces fall from his hands. _Like this_ , he thought fiercely, _Alabasta is falling apart just like this crane_. And just like this, this was how he realized that he still cared a lot about Alabasta; all he needed was to see and realize with his own eyes how those who weren't fooled by Crocodile endured this shit.

How pitiful. And ironic too. The land where his own journey started was crumbling like a sand castle, unable to fight on its own since there was a monster trying to destroy it. He'd been ignorant about this situation for three whole years while he'd been away in the New World, training to become what he was at the moment. Knowing that Sphinx must have suffered too sickened him to the core...but if Sphinx was still here, why hadn't he done anything to prevent Crocodile from creeping into the kingdom and attempting a take-over? Looks like he needed to confront his master for being remotely indifferent towards his homeland – _his damn homeland_ , for God's sake! Why hadn't he asked Pharaoh and Adma about his master's whereabouts so he could ask him himself? That would have saved the country a lot of emotional pain, mental scars and unnecessary trouble as they didn't deserve this. Didn't Sphinx belong here?

" _So do you_ ," a female and familiar voice whispered in his ear, but he didn't even react to it. Euphemia's face was contorted in pain and tears were streaming down her bloody cheeks as she watched her brother's inner conflict and rage. "You had somewhere to belong, Lelouch. You belonged here. And now, the dead are silently asking for justice. Can you help them find peace?"

He could. _Yes_ , he definitely could. Lelouch fisted his hands slowly, but relaxed them a little as he bowed his respectfully to the shattered skull, eyes closed. "May you rest in peace," he whispered.

Behind him, Saber and the twins also had their heads bowed down in respect, sending prayers to all who had already fallen to the tragedy of Alabasta. No comforting words would be able to calm down their leader, whose rage was on the verge of exploding once he would have his hands on Crocodile. When Lelouch rose to his feet, the eyepatch was removed from his face and there was a murderous hatred written on his expression; the mismatched eyes burned with killing intent, intensified by the sinister aura he was giving off.

"Alright," he said slowly. "Let's go to Alubarna."

* * *

 **Author's Note 3:** Ouch. Hard to write, that one. But even harder after learning of Chester Bennington's death. Linkin Park was also part of my life, I loved their songs – especially " _Somewhere I Belong_ _"_ , which I absolutely loved. So, here.

 **Author's Note 4:** I originally wanted Lelouch to learn of Sphinx's death in this chapter, just for him to go loose on Baroque Works and kill whoever was in his path. But, huh, I quickly realized that would have been a bad idea – with his Devil Fruit having eaten away half of his sanity (even though he wasn't entirely sane to begin with after the Zero Requiem) and him being emotionally disturbed because of that, he wouldn't have been able to think straight and would have endangered the whole population. Yep, better Sabertooth to realize this than Lelouch. And with all this, I originally titled this chapter ' Crawling', 'In The End' or 'Faint'...just to see how Lelouch would have confronted Vivi about the whole situation. _Damn_.


	8. You Will Lose

**Author's Note 1:** Yes, guys. The Straw Hats _will be_ in  Lelouch's Romance Dawn – what, you thought Lelouch wouldn't get to torment Luffy and Nami and make friends with Robin? That friendship _has_ to happen, one way or another.

 **Author's Note 2:** DID ANYONE SEE THAT AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR TRAILER?! THAT BLACK PANTHER ONE?! DAMN I'M BEYOND EXCITED FOR THOSE MOVIES!

* * *

 **Chapter Eight:** _You Will Lose_

* * *

Hold onto your sanity, and everything should go smoothly. Just smile to hide the growing madness and the anger behind the most beautiful appearances so you won't fuck someone up because you wanted to. And if you're handsome and well-mannered, nobody will feel the killing intent.

 _Fuck that_. Lelouch needed to bathe his hands in the blood of the Warlord to calm down – even his whole body if he had to. He flexed his fingers slowly and breathed in deeply, longing to have Crocodile's body in his hands so he could wreck him to a broken, bloody heap of bones. The devastating sight of what was left Erumalu had left him bereft and hungry for revenge; destroying such a beautiful city where most of his childhood friends used to live, with the help of Dance Powder, for the price of getting something that might not even be located in the country called for blood to be spilled. And lots of blood _will_ be spilled, now that Lelouch had a leg to stand on.

 _Kill him. Kill him. Kill the bastard who pretended to be Alabasta's savior. Terminate the one who lied. Disrupt his plans. Make him taste fear of the unknown. Make him remember our name. Make him beg for mercy. Show him who the real monster is._

'Our' name? Last time Lelouch checked, there was only one personality in his mind. Not two, not three.

Those thoughts had been whispered by an inner voice for a while now, and Lelouch had been listening to all of them; he couldn't recognize the raspy voice whispering these horrifying words, even though they were all enticing to him. They expressed the blood-thirsty urges he was trying hard to contain, only because he didn't want to release them in front of his friends. Sabertooth was already used to it and had mastered his fears, but the twins? He almost 'devoured' their minds and could have killed them back then, had his insane mind not been dead set on ripping the late clown to shreds. And at that time, someone had been whispering in the back of his mind as well, with the same raspy voice. Had Sabertooth not been there to snap Lelouch out of his trance, he would've done...something. Something really bad that would have his secret out: his blacklisted Devil Fruit. If Noctis and Nasse didn't master their fear of him, there was a good chance they wouldn't be able to follow them on a journey.

He couldn't let that happen once again. Cases of split personalities must exist in the Grand Line, and being one of those freak cases because of the Terror-Terror Fruit couldn't lead to a joyful ride. _Hm_. Even though Lelouch hadn't been exactly sane to begin with when he was reborn in this world (with all of his memories), it looks like he'll have to thank Vergo for nurturing his persistent madness with his powers.

The navigator was so engrossed in his dark brooding that he hadn't felt someone sneak up right behind him, it was only when fingers tentatively grasped his shoulder that he violently snapped out of his trance with a start. Not only did he nearly jumped out of his skin, but Lelouch only contorted his head instead of looking over his shoulder with a disturbed expression plastered on his face. And this action had Nasse freaking out and jumping into her brother's arms, utter shock written on her feline face.

Both took big breaths to calm their nerves, eyes still wide, while Sabertooth and Noctis eyed them warily. Ever since they left the ruins of Erumalu, Lelouch had been surrounded by a sinister aura he wouldn't tamper willingly; it was rolling off him in waves he would release slowly, but surely, and they didn't like his brooding. Lelouch groaned tiredly, contorting his head back to the normal side after mumbling an apology to Nasse.

"So you _do_ care," came Noctis' voice, which carried a tone of amazement, as he stared at the hunched form of the navigator. "You do care about Alabasta and its balance, but you're not willing to show it. Why is that, Lelouch? The fact that you want to take part in this war could have reassured your friends from Nanohana."

The wind blew into their faces, warm but uneasy, and Lelouch's face softened a little at the mention of Pharaoh and Adma. Sabertooth snorted, and turned away to keep an eye on the road while guiding the giant moving crab they managed to get out of his hiding spot in the sand.

"I don't _need_ to show that the situation is actually affecting me as much as you, only my actions will determinate my state of mind," Lelouch declared stiffly, his mismatched eyes staring into the endless sand dunes far away. "The most emotionless people are even more empathetic than the most emotional ones, and my mind is currently a mess right now."

"Tell me about it," Noctis ground out, his golden eyes drilling holes into Lelouch's back. "Can't you see what's happening with you? Not only are you a danger to all of us, but you're a danger to yourself as well: the triggers you keep having will lead you to murder someone you hold dear someday, unless there's something you can do about it!"

Yes, there was _something_ Lelouch could do; he could try to meditate and reach out to whatever was living inside his own head to tame it. But if he didn't know what the hell it was, there was little he could actually do. Stretching his arms above his head, he blinked twice before flopping on his back. He lay there for a few seconds, watching the clear sky with a frown, before he expertly did a handstand, balancing his body weight, and graciously stood back on his feet to face Noctis.

"I won't comment on your ignorance about possessing a Devil Fruit that's stronger and deadlier than you mentally speaking, but let me tell you this," Lelouch snapped back, whirling around to pin the acrobat with a chilling stare. He almost relished at the noticeable flinch he saw in Noctis, but didn't dwell on it. "Do you even have the slightest idea of what that Devil Fruit puts me through every single damn time I use it? I'm not asking for a pity party from you and your sister, I'll just try to force you to be in my shoes for a whole week – no, not a week, _just a single day_. The Terror-Terror Fruit doesn't just allow me to dig up your worst fears and replay them like an unending nightmare, it also plays with my sanity. Not that I was entirely sane to begin with," he laughed sardonically at the twins' ashen expression, stepping further into their space. "but it was the price to pay to control this power. You want me to do something about it? I can try, but could _you_ have done something better? _You_ , the young boy who still has someone precious to lose and would have most certainly committed suicide after losing his dear sister to death?"

Once he was inches away from Noctis, Lelouch slowly smirked at him.

"You don't get it at all, Noctis. In order to master this Devil Fruit I've been forced to eat, I have to conquer all of my personal fears and, if necessary to survive the process, give up something precious to me to move forward. If I act insanely to you, that's because I _needed_ to get rid of my own sanity in order to be on the same balance with the Terror-Terror Fruit. I've come to realize something very important: madness beats fear. You should choose guts over fear. The most insane people don't care about anything because there is nothing to fear to them, even dying must sound like the greatest idea they ever heard in life. Can you give up your own sanity for something you need? There is _no way_ anyone, who has eaten this accursed Devil Fruit, could roam the Grand Line with a sane mind, because the things you do to people with those powers are beyond twisted. You're a completely changed person to the core, you become darker and you also develop killing intent. You can view me as a demon if you want, I wouldn't be that surprised," he snorted with a dangerous scowl, then held up one finger. "But you're right about one thing: I may attack you one day, should I literally lose control of myself or... if I don't sound and act like myself. But I will ensure that this won't ever happen anytime soon, I'd be damned before I could try anything on you. _However_ ," he started darkly as his eyes flashed dangerously at them. "don't talk to me as if I was a child who doesn't know what he's doing with his powers, I've been dealing with those for at least ten years."

He cocked his head on the side, taking in the pale faces and the terrified expressions on Noctis and Nasse. Good, let them know _how_ and _why_ Canterbury Lelouch was a sick bastard who could be the coolest guy they'd ever known and be the worst son of a bitch the next second – insanity was no joke, Lelouch could have beaten Noctis to death for nothing. If his own madness could beat his fears, grant him mastery of the Terror-Terror Fruit and make Euphemia's ghost go in peace, then he'd happily accept it. Nothing else was acceptable. When the twins started trembling and gasp for air as if it had been knocked out of their lungs, he turned away from them and went back to his spot on the ginormous back.

But he said one last thing. "You would have happily died to escape from the clutches of this Devil Fruit, Noctis. Don't you dare say otherwise, because I simply won't believe this blatant lie."

 _I'm sorry if I'm not the kind of friend or leader you two expected_ , Lelouch thought solemnly as the twins sat further away from the two best friends, obviously too shaken to even be near him. _But this is who I've become because of that_. He could have chosen to be someone else despite having eaten his accursed Devil Fruit, but he would have ultimately killed himself; he would have suffered the most shattering breakdown and wouldn't have taken the exclusive opportunity to explore the Grand Line, meet Sabertooth and turn this world upside-down (starting by fucking with the World Government and their stunts). Granted, Noctis and Nasse still haven't seen just how sick he could be, should he get to this point without Saber around to hold him back, but Lelouch snapping and killing someone because he just wanted to was bound to happen. Sooner or later.

Lelouch idly wondered if the twins would stick around with them after the Alabasta debacle, especially after he gave them a close-up explanation of his real self (or did he really?). The most logical thing they'd do would be leaving them to their shenanigans for many reasons, but he failed to see what they had left from the Desert Kingdom; Noctis and Nasse were, if Lelouch recalled correctly, orphans and didn't have any relatives left they'd live with. Plus, Alabasta would need to recover from the war that was about to break out and a country that was on the verge of destruction would need time and determination from its nation to rebuild it – mentally, politically and physically speaking. The twins would have little to zero chance of fitting in, since they've been estranged from this dying country for so long. Lelouch pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, feeling a headache coming.

Could this situation be any more annoying and messy? If he needed to think ahead of Crocodile, his self-control had to be on point in order to disrupt his plans to have Alabasta destroyed by its own people; having Baroque Works blend in as soldiers of the Royal Army (because that's what he would have done) and trigger everything in the blink of an eye would be ideal to have everyone confused while he could get his hands on what he wanted. The loss of Erumalu had been the beginning, he wasn't going to stop until Alabasta drowned in its blood, spilled by its own deceived people. And seeing the ruins of the Green City... Lelouch bet that the princess must have wanted to cry about it since coming back.

And he was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't sensed someone sneaking up behind him, until two arms caged his head into a deadly headlock. _What on earth_ , he thought with wide eyes and a stunned expression as they almost doubled over, leaning dangerously towards the edge of the moving crab. He jumped up, startled and almost spooked, but the person holding onto him was clinging for dear life and wouldn't let go. What on earth indeed.

" _Listen_ , Lelouch," Nasse's voice hissed angrily in his ear, struggling to keep her hold onto him – especially because he could just slither out of it like a damn snake. Contortion and all. "We get it. You're one hell of a bastard genius with a deadly Devil Fruit that can eat your mind and drive you crazier than most of the sons of bitches up in the World Government, but _does that mean you have to ste_ _e_ _r clear from your friends?_ Those same friends who want to help you bring down a damn Warlord of the Sea and restore balance in your country? As your friend, Lelouch – if you ever consider me as one –, _I_ 'm concerned about your well-being, _Sabertooth_ is concerned, _Noctis_ is concerned and I'm sure _the twins_ from Nanohana are also concerned. Why do you have to scare us to death just so you won't have to deal with us trying to help and care for you? We're not your pawns, _we're your damn friends_ _and we care about you_ _!_ " she practically shrieked the last part in Lelouch's ear, making the navigator cringe.

"And you think I haven't thought of that beforehand?" Lelouch hissed back, finally breaking out of Nasse's headlock by performing a gracious back flip to land smoothly behind her. He evaded her blows swiftly and expertly, glaring back at her blind eyes. "You think I can't see that you all care? As my friends, you're both my strength _and_ my weakness and vice-versa, that's how our enemies will try to get to us. Don't you get it, Nasse? I'm giving you a chance to escape, to leave us and our problems because you two will be caught in an impossible whirlwind of deadly encounters and adventures – not the kind that you would like, because we'd be in constant danger if someone notified the World Government that I'm the wielder of the Terror-Terror Fruit. Heavens, can't you two see it?" he growled, eyes flashing almost desperately.

They couldn't see it, they couldn't understand the magnitude of the danger they'd be exposed to if they stuck to each other. And he had to make them see it. Lelouch deftly caught Nasse's wrists, holding the infuriated girl against him as she struggled violently, but he held firm. He could see the anger in her unseeing eyes, overruling her hurt and fear (even though he could still sense it beneath those waves of anger), and that prickled his heart a little bit because she absolutely didn't deserve it, certainly not from him.

"I'm a walking death trap that will have you two killed, in the most unfair way possible, if you don't learn to think like us," he told the twins earnestly, sighing when Nasse deflated slowly in front of him. "Death traps like me would be your tomb if you don't steer clear soon enough. So you're absolutely right: I _do_ care, but I don't show it every day – even Sabertooth must know by now that I care a lot about him. If you choose to follow us –"

"THEN IT'S OUR CHOICE!" both Nasse and Noctis yelled at him, stepping into Lelouch's personal space.

The words seemed to echo around them, loud and heavy with determination and anger in the air. Behind all that fear Lelouch could sense lay lots of inner strength and potential that awaited awakening, and the twins were currently showing what they needed to survive in this damn world. Guts _and_ balls. The Grand Line may be a cutthroat, but if they were to follow one of the biggest sons of bitches that could overthrow the World Government with mind games just because he felt like it (without any reason at all), they would have to want it from the heart and not regret that choice later on. All they had to do was stay alive for themselves. Their souls and spirits better be tough, because that's where you find toughness. Not in the muscles.

There was a long moment during which Lelouch stared down at the twins, his face blank and unmoved, eyes hard. Behind him, Sabertooth looked closely at the siblings with observant eyes that couldn't miss anything from where he was sitting, all the while guiding the giant crustacean. Nasse and Noctis didn't back down, scowling at Lelouch with their hands fisted at their sides and glowering. One was interesting when the other twin wasn't around, but when together, they were similar to a rising storm that could be potentially dangerous.

And finally, _finally_ , low chuckles could barely be heard apart from the crunching sounds the crab made, but they slowly got louder. Two pairs of eyes watched in complete confusion as Lelouch's face softened considerably and he erupted in laughter, joined by his best friend.

Noctis blinked several times, clearly at a loss. He shook his head, trying to wrap his head around whatever was actually going on. "W-What...," he sputtered, clearly too confused to utter a coherent sentence.

"You _do_ have guts," Lelouch said between two chuckles, nursing his neck a little with one hand and putting the other on Nasse's shoulder. His strange eyes didn't have that terrifying glint anymore and the atmosphere seemed to have warmed up all of a sudden; the coldness was gone, replaced by what Noctis could call...relief? "Your spirits are much stronger than I originally thought, which is a good combination."

Nasse was doing this magnificent interpretation of a puffer fish, gaping at the chuckling best friends with a stupefied expression plastered on her feline face. What the hell was going on right now? A second ago, she and Noctis were about to bite his head off for thinking they were too weak-willed to follow them and now, they were laughing as if there wasn't going to be a big fight between them? As much as she wanted to smile with them, Nasse had to know if everything was alright between them.

Sabertooth answered for her, his keen eyes bright with satisfaction. "Jack-o-lantern was just testing your will, your spirits and your guts. You should know by now that muscles and brains aren't enough to keep up with us – or Jack-o-lantern alone. If you can take all of his madness and master your worst nightmares, then you _can_ definitely beat fear." His smile dimmed a little bit, but the warm glint in his green eyes never faded. "He might be a huge bastard, but he'll give you reasons to trust him once you're ready. Still a bastard, though."

Lelouch's round house kick knocked him out before he could burst out laughing.

* * *

When Sabertooth came back to, someone was pulling at his tail excitedly and shouting nonsense. His eyes shot open and he nearly slapped the bastard who was man-handling his beloved tail. It was the kind of thing that little children who've never seen a hybrid such as himself – his race was the sister tribe of the legendary Minks of Zou, after all – always did because it seemed so cool, so it was a _very_ unpleasant feeling for Sabertooth. Monkeys treasured their tails, and so did he.

He kicked whomever was torturing his precious tail, snarling and bright green eyes glaring. "Don't _ever_ pull at my tail like a hyperactive child, idiot!" he yelled over the shouting match, jumping to his feet.

"Urrgh... sorry," the sprawled heap of clothes mumbled from its crumpled position on the sandy ground. And just as it started rising from the ground, it was tackled hard once again by a furious Sabertooth as the monkey flat out ignored the surprised screams from other people around them. "Hey! I said I was sorry! What gives?!" the boy – it _looked_ like a boy to him, even though he was now a target – shrieked, trying to shake off the angry monkey man.

"You think I'm going to let you off the hook that easy after nearly ripping my tail off?" Saber snarled as he restrained the boy with one hand and started to draw his sword with the other. "How about you lose some fingers for a – oh, _Lord!_ "

His green eyes widened slightly as his keen senses and Haki rang through him, making the hair of the back of his head stand, and the hybrid quickly performed a _Soru_ to avoid being cleaved by a sword being drawn by someone else. Saber swiftly reappeared at Lelouch's side on all fours, scowling at the one who tried to cut him for tackling the idiot. Dark eyes glared right back at him, sending a confused yet murderous look (probably because he must have never heard of the Six Powers and its moves); the man had hair as green as his own eyes, a muscled body hidden behind those layers. Saber studied the sword he was holding with a critical eye, and blinked in slight surprise when he felt a faint, dark pull calling to him.

 _That sword is cursed_ , he realized as he gracefully stood from his position. _And that must be a Kitetsu sword_. He smirked slightly, eyes suddenly shining. That moss-headed guy must either have an incredible luck or was very strong-willed to wield a cursed sword such as a Kitetsu; just having to bear the curse showed that his spirit was strong enough to overpower it and not succumb to madness or death. After all, Kitetsu swords were rumored to bring tragedy to their wielders. But what finally got Sabertooth's full attention was the white sword resting at his hip.

"You must be skilled to wield one of the twenty-one _O Wazamono_ grade swords and to have survived without having been defeated for it as the prize, Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro," the monkey drawled, smiling widely. He chuckled in amusement at the narrowing eyes of the younger swordsman, waving his hand. "Relax, you keep that Wado Ichimonji for yourself, I'm quite happy with mine." _Very happy_.

"How did you avoid my attack so quickly?" the moss-headed man demanded sharply, even though his tone suggested that he was still baffled and suspicious about the whole process.

Sabertooth's smile turned into a challenging smirk. "Once you grow stronger, rookie, maybe I'll tell you."

Lords above – if there were any in this nonsensical world –, his best friend had taken an interest in Roronoa Zoro and could fuck up everything in the span of five minutes if he didn't shut up. Sensing that the situation could quickly turn sour, Lelouch turned towards him, raising a brow. "Sabertooth, are you aware that you were about to maul the captain of the Straw Hats?" he questioned lightly. He nodded when Saber sent him a surprised look. "And _yes_ , he's the same boy who was pulling at your tail."

Green eyes settled on the boy he'd almost mauled and studied him thoroughly, ignoring the strange-looking reindeer who was fussing over him. What he noticed first was the straw-hat, strapped to his head so it wouldn't fall; if he remembered correctly, Red Hair Shanks was the previous owner of that legendary straw-hat. And now, that precious pile of straw belonged to that scrawny guy, who looked nothing short of extraordinary (or maybe he was still a bit woozy from Lelouch's round house kick). A small scar was visible under his left eye, which could have been the result of a tiny cut. From a first look, Monkey D. Luffy appeared harmless, but maybe there was more to him if they were to fight.

How on earth could this guy possess such treasure? Had he actually met Red Hair Shanks, one of the Four Emperors that ruled the New World? If so, then that must mean this Monkey D. Luffy had to have impressed the powerful pirate to have received his greatest treasure, because there was no way in hell that he'd part ways with the straw-hat that once belonged to the very Gol D. Roger. Shanks must have seen something in him that Sabertooth couldn't see, and maybe that was enough to give this rookie his straw-hat as a guide and treasure to look after.

Sabertooth blinked slowly. Then twice as he cocked his head on the side. "Huh? _This_ is the captain of the Straw Hats?" he asked Lelouch, uncertainty dripping from his tone.

"Apparently. That's Monkey D. Luffy and two members of his crew," Noctis piped in, coming to rest an arm on Saber's shoulder. He was keeping a close eye on the green-haired swordsman, who was still eying them all with a suspicious glare. "We've just stumbled upon them while you were out cold, thanks to Lelouch, and it seems that they were separated: Tony Tony Chopper right here – the little reindeer with that cute pink top hat – is trying to track down the rest of their crew."

 _So Vivi must be somewhere else with the rest of the Straw_ _H_ _ats_ , Lelouch thought idly as he glanced towards the sky. The sun was already setting, taking along its insane heat and all the hazards they could have run into had he not known everything about this desert, and it was bound to be very chilly pretty soon. They would have to set camp for the night to replenish their energy and get back on the road towards Alubarna on the back of their giant crab, since the capital was still very far away – though the oasis of Yuba was close to their position, Lelouch didn't have any business over there and the rebels must have left already.

And Vivi was still dead set on going there to try to convince their leader to stop their rebellion. Once she and the Straw Hats get there, what the hell will they do if they realized that they left already towards another oasis – Katorea, for example? They would have traveled all the way from Nanohana for _nothing_. Her plan was trash and she must face the cold truth about it: stopping the rebel army wasn't going to stop Crocodile from destroying Alabasta. She needed a new plan right now, she needed to confront the snake head on.

Lelouch silently cursed the stupid princess, thinking fast. Then his eyes slowly slid towards the three Straw Hats and he eyed them for a few seconds. He couldn't make the mistake of trusting them – not so soon, not so fast. Not only were they actually traveling with the princess of this country, but they were also pirates; Lelouch may not know how they thought right now, but he was sure there was no way in hell they'd tell him if Vivi was indeed back in Alabasta to stop Crocodile. No, especially if they understood the predicament she was in and became friends with her, because they seemed absolutely different from all the other pirates he and Sabertooth had met prior to this encounter. Had she met another pirate crew who would have taken advantage of her status, there was a chance that Vivi would have never made it back home safe and sound. So the Straw Hats... must be here to help.

And what's more, if Lelouch told them that going to Yuba to stop the rebel army was completely pointless, there was a risk the Straw Hats wouldn't believe him; why would they believe someone they'd just met over Vivi, whom they must have come to know and trust for some time until they reached Alabasta? They must have had time to earn each other's trust and friendship, and that was a plus – something Lelouch didn't have right now.

Alright. He had to know. Still, if they really were here to help the stupid princess...

"Have you come here to defeat Crocodile because of what he's doing to the country?" Lelouch asked softly. "Then must I assume that Vivi is back after having blown her cover as a Baroque Works agent, alive and ready to do whatever needs to be done to save Alabasta?"

The questions came so suddenly that the three Straw Hats shut up rather abruptly, turning toward him with widened eyes – for Luffy and Chopper only, Zoro merely put a hand around one of his swords and frowned at him. The surprise showing on their faces was hilarious, more than the fact that Lelouch – who was a complete stranger to them they met ten minutes ago – already knew why they were in Alabasta in the first place. Resisting the urge to chuckle at them, the navigator put his hands up to show that he meant no harm.

"Come now, there's no need to lie and pretend to not know what I'm talking about," he drawled, smirking slightly. "I mean no harm to her, since I'm a native of this country. But I do have to question your own motive to come here and help her, since pirates don't actually do this kind of thing – you are no heroes, you're wanted criminals who just happened to come across a princess silently crying for help, but too proud to admit it." His face became serious and cold, the smirk now wiped off. "What's your excuse to help her? Friendship?"

It took a moment for them to ponder what he was saying, but the response didn't take that long to come. It was Luffy who answered this, seeing that the situation had suddenly gotten very serious in the span of ten minutes.

"And what if we are? What's it to you, anyway? Do you know Vivi?"

The Pirate Hunter whipped around to punch his captain – his own captain – on his cranium, snarling. "Stop talking, Luffy!" he scolded him. "You're giving away our plan to some guy we don't even know and might be lying for what we know!"

"I happen to love this country," Lelouch said smoothly, drawing all eyes on him with various expressions – from shock to pure comprehension. For those who knew him, getting him to talk about the things he loved and his emotions was even worse than pulling teeth from a restless child. His face looked a little strained as he opened up about it. "Even though I don't express it firmly or often, I care about Alabasta. What's happening here is nothing short than a slow death sentence and I don't know if Vivi really _is_ prepared for it; _if_ she plans to stop the rebel army, and only if she succeeds, what then? Will that get rid of Crocodile?" He scoffed, feeling somewhat irate for a second. "And you're going along with her plan? You're setting yourself up for failure. You can't be that stupid, now can you?"

"Watch your tongue, freak," Zoro warned in a cold voice, glaring at Lelouch.

But he was just starting, because the whole thing was already pissing him off and he hasn't got ahold of Crocodile yet. If he could make Straw Hat Luffy see that following Vivi's lead would only lead to failure (even if he could see it himself), then Alabasta might have a chance to have a tomorrow. As Lelouch slowly stalked towards the Straw Hats, he crossed his arms over his chest and glared right back with a ferocious glint in his mismatched eyes. "What I don't understand is your involvement in this matter: there's nothing for you to gain in getting involved in Alabasta's predicament, yet you're willing to throw your lives away for a country that will still see you as pirates. You're about to take on one of the Seven Warlords of the sea... _you?_ A pirate crew that just emerged from one of the Blues? Rookies against a seasoned pirate who became a Warlord? You're out of your league, little boy." Lelouch scowled as he neared Zoro. "You know what I think, Straw Hats?"

The Pirate Hunter snarled, drawing his sword at him to swipe at him, which seemed to wake Straw Hat Luffy up.

"ZORO, DON'T ATTACK HIM!" he suddenly screamed, eyes wide in alarm and rearing his arm as if to catch him in mid step.

 _He sensed it_. He wasn't as reckless as he looked if he could feel someone's greater might – even though that person still hasn't shown his Conqueror Haki. While the older pirate heard his captain order him, it was too late to stop his attack. But Lelouch was more than ready: he lifted a leg to counter the blow, using his knee to strike the inside of Zoro's wrist where he knew there was a tense point. The navigator almost smiled when he heard the faintest sound of a cracked bone; Vergo's insane training had been so thorough and intense that it succeeded in hardening his body to the point it would be as hard as steel – almost like Vergo. The gasp of pain that the swordsman tried hard to muffle still reached Lelouch's ears, which made him scoff in derision.

Once Zoro's arm was out of the way, he swiftly swung his other leg to high kick the Pirate Hunter to the ground the next second by knocking him on the head, using the front of his other foot to do a complete circuit of his body. The strength Lelouch put in his blow made the swordsman fall gracelessly on the sandy ground, grunting in pain.

"Zoro!" the reindeer squealed fearfully, eyes wide in disbelief as he ran up to his friend to check on him.

Even Sabertooth expressed his concern. "Please don't overdo it, Lelouch?" he groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. Suffice to say, he already knew where this was going and those rookie Strawhats will hate him just for telling the truth. But the truth was the truth. "There's no need to turn them into our enemies."

 _Good_ , the navigator thought as he looked down at the swordman, flexing his fingers. _Because that's not even a quarter of the painful reality I'm about to drop on your head_.

"GUM GUM...", Lelouch heard as he glanced towards Straw Hat's way, and he just waited patiently, standing right in front of Straw Hat Luffy to evade the oncoming barrage of fists. He smirked 'kindly' at the angry expression that was just appearing on the young pirate's face. "GATLING GUN!"

To one trained eye very attentive to detail, it looked like two fists punching the air in every direction in slow motion – and that was exactly what Lelouch was seeing, thus it was easy for him to avoid being hit. That Devil Fruit was rather intriguing; was Monkey D. Luffy a... rubber-man? Because his arms seemed to stretch loosely and quite far, which was slightly fascinating. He side-stepped gracefully and swiftly, from side to side, never allowing one fist close to his face or stomach. Slowly, he inched closer towards Straw Hat, contorting his way between the fists and arms however he liked.

"The difference between you and Crocodile, Straw Hat Luffy," Lelouch said as he performed a somersault to land gracefully on the pirate's shoulders. He managed to balance himself perfectly on that young man, built like a string-bean, who swayed dangerously because of the sudden weight. "is that he can easily kill you without even trying. Sure, your Devil Fruit powers are definitely intriguing, but if you can't even touch him, it's annoyingly useless. But what's more important than dying by his hands?" He sat on Luffy's shoulders, locking his legs all around his lanky body in a tight constriction despite the struggling, and bent his torso forward until he was staring right at his bewildered face. Upside down, Lelouch looked like a devil with his mismatched eyes. He even grabbed Luffy by the cheeks to keep his attention on him, inducing a barely noticeable amount of Haki to maintain his hold on all that rubber.

The smirk was gone from Lelouch's face, replaced by this cold, serious expression he's always had whenever he had to speak out and make sure that everyone's attention didn't stray from him. That hyperactive dolt won't change that, especially when Alabasta's fate seemed to rest in his damn hands due to Vivi counting on those pirates to help her in her foolish quest to stop the rebel army.

"I think you will _lose_ , Straw Hat," he said bluntly.

The silence that welcomed his statement seemed to make everything and everyone freeze, especially the Straw Hats. Luffy's expression became gradually blank in less than three seconds and his body went limp as he just stared at the older man, not even fighting him anymore. If anything, what he just said just kept echoing in his head, loud and clear: 'I think you will lose, Straw Hat.' Monkey D. Luffy must have been told many times, in his first days as a pirate, that he'd lose to someone who was in an entirely different league, but this time, chances that he'd win against one of the seven Warlords were really slim. Chances that he'd die in Crocodile's hands were high and this rookie here didn't even know a damn thing about Haki and how it worked, he'd be toyed with as if he was still a little kid – which he actually was – that needed to be put in his place before he got too cocky for his own good.

 _I think you will lose, Straw Hat_.

No. Just _no_. Even if his life depended on it, Lelouch won't bet on Monkey D. Luffy, a rookie who must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time when he and his crew stumbled upon Vivi, to save Alabasta from Crocodile, a veteran from the New World who would tear him apart without even trying and a care in the world. He'd just think that he was just a rookie pirate stupid enough to get involved in a war that wasn't his to begin with – Monkey D. Luffy was a pirate, for God's sake! What business did he actually have with Crocodile to get involved in Alabasta's battle for life? What the hell was Vivi thinking, involving _pirates_ who still could choose to drop her like a hot potato and let her fight her own battle if her plan about stopping the rebel army from assaulting the capital and her father didn't work? A pirate fighting another pirate to save the country?

 _I think you will lose, Straw Hat_.

No. Lelouch won't take that chance: that inexperienced idiot would get himself killed in the stupidest way possible in the desert – if they chose to fight in the desert, his playground, the place where Crocodile would have the ultimate leverage. This stupid boy was most probably walking toward his own death.

His eyes narrowed dangerously on Luffy, and he gritted his teeth. "Vivi might actually believe that you'd crush Crocodile for her and the sake of Alabasta, but _please_ Straw Hat, be a little more realistic: Crocodile didn't become one of the seven Warlords for nothing and by being an amateur, he's an adept fighter who will trample you in seconds – minutes, if you're agile enough to evade his Devil Fruit powers, should he decide to let you strike first just to kill time for a few moments. He'll _toy_ with you, just like he's been toying with Alabasta for three whole years, fooling everyone who believed he was their personal savior from pirate scumbags. Obviously, he's someone cunning enough to even make people turn their backs on their own king, painting him as the real culprit behind whatever is ailing their country. _This_ , Straw Hat, is your enemy. _This_ is the Warlord you'll face. And _you_ want to take _him_ down? As if you actually knew you stood a chance against him!" He pulled at Luffy's face to force the younger boy to look up at him, his fingers still infused with Haki, and snarled angrily as he straightened his back on the boy's shoulders. "Betting on you to save Alabasta isn't safe and Vivi is getting desperate for a miracle. You're a joke for the time being, Straw Hat, and I don't particularly like the idea of you running around thinking that you'll defeat someone of Crocodile's caliber. Should you even manage to beat him – let's say, _if_ that actually happens before you could die stupidly for being too reckless, predictable and inexperienced –, it will just be out of pure _luck_."

The flinch he felt from the boy, when the last words were hissed, was mildly satisfying. There wasn't any tears welling up in his eyes, no fear creeping from him but pure _rage_ ; it slowly transformed his whole expression as the muscles in his face contracted to form that enraged face Lelouch wanted to see. It clashed heavily with his youthful features and the innocent face he had, meaning that this boy could actually fight and think; Luffy's reaction to his spiteful, albeit truthful words, showed that there was some clarity behind that obvious stupidity. There were some working brain cells in that brain of his. Good. But that anger alone was still no match against Crocodile.

Monkey D. Luffy was still no match. He'd still die if he wasn't careful enough with the Sand-Sand Fruit. And that didn't sit well with Lelouch, because that wasn't his fight – it was _Alabasta's_.

A spike of fear alerted the genius long before he heard the menacing and angry growl of the reindeer, who seemed torn between lunging or staying by his friend's side to tend to him. Lelouch glanced sharply at him, narrowing his mismatched eyes at the different form of Tony Tony Chopper – bulky and taller, he could easily tower over him, but did that mean he was strong enough to hold his own against him? He sounded so much like a young child...

The reindeer snarled at him, trying to look as menacing as possible. "G-Get off my captain, you creep!" he squeaked, stuttering just a little. Still young and easily intimidated. Poor little tanuki.

Slowly, a smirk crept its way on the navigator's face. "But of course," Lelouch drawled.

"I won't lose."

He paused, looking back down at Straw Hat with a quirked brow. Luffy was staring up at him, some of his anger having left his face as if he'd been thinking at lightning speed – after all, Lelouch's words spoke too much truth to just be ignored and brushed off as angry words.

"I won't lose," he repeated in this same determined voice. Lelouch frowned. "I promised Vivi that I would free this country from Crocodile's clutches, no matter what. She's our friend and she needs help. So I definitely can't allow myself to lose."

"Hn. Where is this determination coming from, pray tell?" Mismatched eyes glared darkly at the boy, who glared back. If anything, Lelouch was somehow intrigued he hadn't flinched under his stare; most Marine soldiers and scumbags, who didn't have any knowledge of his Devil Fruit, were all on edge whenever he was irritated. "Just because you promised Vivi that you'd defeat Crocodile doesn't mean that you'd actually win, determination or not. Courage and guts won't be enough to save you or this country!"

Now, Straw Hat was getting heated as he struggled even more against Lelouch's constriction. The anger was back into those obsidian eyes, fueling his erratic movements, but the older adult wouldn't budge and tightened his hold even more. He deftly caught the stretching hands that were definitely reaching for his neck, made an intricate knot of the limbs despite Luffy's protestations.

"How can you even know that? You don't know me, mismatched-eyed freak!"

Lelouch scoffed, barely offended by the insult. He heard worse. Frustrated, Sabertooth approached with his hands in view to show he was no apparent or disguised threat. Slow steps meant that he wouldn't try to hurt anyone here. "Really, it's not _that_ difficult to understand that the chances of you dying for a country you have no ties to are high," he said, surveying the Straw Hats with a critical eye. His green eyes narrowed at Tony Tony Chopper, who flinched visibly and recoiled. "Whether you're doing this for princess Vivi out of friendship or not, you should have known that you're no match against a Warlord the second you've found out that Crocodile was the leader of Baroque Works. At least, not right now. So Lelouch is absolutely right, Straw Hats: should your captain win against Crocodile, it will really be out of pure luck. You've just begun your journey and you're already involved in a war you've got no interest in. As pirates, you could just ditch the princess and tell her to fight her own battle alone – all it would take is say 'Screw you, Vivi' and you'd leave her and Alabasta to their fate. That's all. You would be done. You could say that it's out of loyalty, honor and frienship all you like, your nature won't change."

Sabertooth shook his head solemnly.

"A pirate, no matter whom he befriends, remains a pirate and could still betray if his life and interest are ten thousand times worth more than any friendship."

The words were harsh enough to make Straw Hat and his friends flinch once again, because that was something they _could_ do; now that they've been informed that the leader of the criminal organization responsible for Alabasta's woes was one of the Seven Warlords, they could decide whether they should go along with Vivi and stop the rebel army or tell to shove off and resume their journey. The choice was theirs, since they hadn't pledged to the princess to defend the crumbling country. Loyal friends they were, but they always had to remind themselves and everyone they were goddamn _pirates_. At the end of the day, they will still be _pirates_. Loyalty between them was either fickle or just didn't exist, but would it always be the opposite with friends when it was a matter of life and death? Would it be worth dying before even getting to the New World and have a shot at finding the One Piece and challenge the Four Emperors for their title?

For the second time, Lelouch was glad he didn't become a pirate; whoever Monkey D. Luffy was or whatever kind of pirate he was, he might just be some of those who would have a significant impact on this world. After all, if he was Garp's grandson, then he was bound to become something fearful one day – fearful _and_ annoying. But not now.

"We don't care if you choose not to heed our words and warnings," Lelouch continued as he shifted on top of Luffy, flipping them off so he could slam the young pirate on the ground. He stood up gracefully, brushing off his clothes, and looked down at the infuriated boy. "but let them sink into you: it would be a shame for you to die before you could even have a chance to experience more in this world, Monkey D. Luffy."

 _Because you seem to have the potential to be_ _come_ _something greater_. Something Lelouch would probably come to respect one day.

* * *

Luffy was absolutely livid as he jumped to his feet, still glaring at the direction this Lelouch guy and his friends went with that giant crab. " _Who_ was this jerk?!" he shouted, fuming. Steam was already puffing out of his nose, a clear sign of his anger. And gods, his cheeks hurt like hell – as if his Grandpa had grabbed him by one of his cheeks back when he was still a child! And – and – his damn limbs!

Needless to say, everything he said _stung_. From their involvement in the conflict of Alabasta to him losing to Crocodile; there was no doubt that Luffy was aware he'd always be told he was no match against a much more powerful foe, but when his friends were in dire need of help, how could he just say no? Strong or weak, Luffy would always come to help. That was in his nature and the words of a mismatched-eyed freak weren't going to change a damn thing.

 _And what's up with his eyes, anyway?_ "I don't know, but he sounded very knowledgeable about the situation and the fact that we came here to fight Crocodile," Zoro grunted irritably, his expression dark and angry. Even he was still upset by his ridiculous 'defeat' at the hands of that stranger. His other hand was killing him and he had a headache. And that monkey who avoided his attack as if he had sensed it coming... his hand tightened around his Wado Ichimonji. "If he's really a native of Alabasta, then he's just as stressed and frustrated as Vivi, even though he's damn good at hiding it. He wants to save his country, but..."

 _But the killing intent I felt from him was so strong even I couldn't bear it_ , Zoro thought uneasily as he stared off in the distance, his expression carefully blank. That Lelouch guy gave off a very powerful and disturbing aura he couldn't understand and ignore, because it was all over the place; just like Mihawk, he seemed to be in an entirely different league of his own – all he had to do was remember how Lelouch easily took him down with just two strikes. Two very powerful strikes that could have prematuraly ended his career as a swordsman and destroyed his dream to beat Dracule Mihawk. He even made him _bleed_ without trying hard, which was an accomplishment. What was actually worse was the feeling his aura made him feel.

Fear. Sheer, pure fear. And it wasn't easy to scare Roronoa Zoro, so this Lelouch guy had to be some kind of monster to make him uneasy – _him_ , of all people. Should he face Crocodile, Zoro dreaded the worse; he wouldn't just beat the Warlord if he could actually fight him, he would make sure he died from his hands. Happily. Gritting his teeth, the swordsman made fists of his hands to calm down and turned towards his friends.

"OK, we've lost enough time already! Let's find Nami and the others!" he ordered, starting to walk away.

"Zoro, that's the wrong direction!" Chopper cried out, arms flailing. "Nami, Sanji, Usopp and Vivi are headed in the opposite direction! Even though I can't sense Ace for the time being..."

 _I think you will lose._

His fists were trembling. From anger or fear? Maybe a little bit of both, since Lelouch had actually managed to both scare _and_ anger him. He had wanted to cut the little bastard in pieces for disrespecting their choice about helping Vivi, but got literally _trashed_ with two fucking strikes. And his wrist hurt like hell, since the bones were cracked (damn, the bastard could have endangered or terminated his career as a swordsman, had he hit the nerves almost as hard as he hit his bones). He still didn't know about the monkey, but his aura was just as strong as Lelouch's – the other two were definitely average, so they wouldn't cause a problem. And the fact that the mismatched-eyed freak had managed to evade every punch from Luffy's Gatling Gun was freaking him out. How in the hell did he manage to do that? Evading just one punch was one thing, but _all of them_ when they were literally blurred because of the speed? Those two were something else, and definitely closer to Mihawk's level than Zoro was, not even Luffy would last three minutes with them with their current level. They were too dangerous for now, which meant that they would literally wipe the floor with their corpses – much like how Mihawk would have after having finished him off, had he not seen his resolve and sensed his strong determination.

 _I think you will lose_.

Zoro snarled quietly, trying his best to ignore those words and that piercing gaze. Whoever he was, Zoro wanted nothing more than meet this Lelouch guy once again and give him a reason to think that the Straw Hats would be, one day, as feared and strong as he was. Just to give him a reason to think that they were worth it. And to start earning their respect, Luffy needed to beat Crocodile and prove his worth first – then, the World Government would start to view their crew as a threat.

That bastard with the freak eyes would have to acknowledge their merit someday. Just like Mihawk.

 _Just you wait_ , Zoro thought darkly as he unconsciously strayed from everyone's path. Eventually, he had to backtrack upon hearing Chopper call for him and grunted in annoyance and brewing anger.

The bastard even made him stray from the path he was supposed to follow.

* * *

"You didn't have to be _that_ rough and tactless on them, Lelouch," Noctis quipped as he flopped on his back once they've set camp for the night, a few hours later. He was enjoying the warm fire their navigator had started, lying as close as he could. Nasse was lying beside him, her head on his stomach and looking very sleepy. Noctis' golden eyes stared at the dark sky, counting the noticeable stars with a slightly forlorn expression. "Supposing they could lose to Crocodile, you can't berate them for wanting to help a friend in need. Wouldn't you have done the same for Sabertooth? Let's just say they have their heart in the right place?"

Lelouch, who was writing in the Log Book nearby, glanced at the younger boy with an unreadable expression. "Rhetorical questions, Noctis," he replied airily. "You know very well that I would have destroyed whoever threatened Sabertooth or his family with every ounce of power I possess, but that's not the reason I've snapped."

"Oh? And what's the real reason, pray tell?"

The genius grew silent for a moment, his eyes cast downward on his Log Book. Noctis noticed this but waited patiently, his golden eyes still watching the stars. Not far away from their position, Sabertooth was sharpening his sword carefully, sitting on a rock. He was enjoying the evening chill, welcoming it with open arms and a bare chest showing his muscles. He didn't give any indication that he was listening to their conversation, but both boys knew without a doubt that he was.

"I'm worried," Lelouch admitted in such a low voice that Noctis almost didn't hear him, and when he turned his head towards his captain and navigator, his eyes widened in shock when he saw the facade finally break a little; so many emotions flashed in those strange eyes of his and he recognized some – worry, conflict, frustration, _fear_. It was almost amazing to witness the living embodiment of terror express the very feeling he always made others feel. "This wasn't how I imagined my return to Alabasta: the country I grew up in is on the verge of a war, bound to destroy everything I've grown to love and burnt it to the ground, all this because a cursed Warlord is looking for something that might or might not be hidden there. And _Vivi_ is hoping to stop the rebel army. For what?"

"The way I see it, she might be putting her faith on the Straw Hats and their stupid captain – a crew of nobodies that just passed Reverse Mountain and is debuting on the Grand Line – to stop this oncoming war. The _rebels?_ Can't she figure out that they might just be part of Crocodile's scheme to involve them as pawns?" At this point, he was clutching his knee very tightly and looked on the verge of exploding with anger. "Crocodile is playing _everyone_ and the Straw Hats are just as clueless as Vivi is, and this is crazy. My problem with the Straw Hats and Monkey D. Luffy?" His eyes darted towards Noctis and Sabertooth, cold and wild. "I won't bet on them. I won't. No, that's just asking for Alabasta's death sentence right here and there's _no way_ I'm going to let this country go up in flames. Vivi can place her last hopes on Straw Hat's shoulders if she wants, but I believe she's mistaken; even though this lot has potential to grow stronger and mature, this battle between Crocodile and Alabasta could definitely be their downfall if their captain died here."

Silence followed Lelouch's rant, during which both Sabertooth and Noctis glanced at each other with knowing looks in their eyes. It wasn't just that he was worried sick about what could happen to this country, it was the fact that some young rookies were the princess' choice as her 'champions' and not veterans who could already have a plan to overthrow Crocodile with knowledge of his powers. What was worse was the fact that Monkey D. Luffy might not even be aware of how the Warlord's powers actually worked – if he didn't know why he brought Dance Powder to Alabasta, then his chances of dying were still high. And from what they've seen, the boy seemed to be the kind to want to have fun most of the time.

Monkey D. Luffy couldn't be taken seriously. And with Smoker and his unit here to arrest his crew, things would go crazy in a short matter of time while the country would implode from within because of the oncoming war about to break out. Vivi could be making a goddamn mistake for betting on Straw Hat. What if involving another pirate in the equation wasn't the solution? If Straw Hat wasn't strong enough to defeat Crocodile, even with knowledge of his weaknesses (be it water or Haki), then who would save Alabasta from falling to its ruin and death?

Sabertooth put down his sword and tools for the moment being, then got up to scoop some food from their fire. "Does that mean you'll confront Crocodile directly or will you first search the city for any eventual bomb?" he asked carefully, sitting down beside his best friend. "Because if he's indeed looking for something highly dangerous – dangerous enough to wipe out a whole kingdom and one of the founding families of the World Government, then he should be dealt with. _Immediately_." The flames danced in his shiny green eyes, giving the half-Mink an unearthly appearance. Sabertooth's mouth twisted in a grimace and he took a big bite of his lizard meat. "If you can't bet on Monkey D. Luffy, then take the matter into your hands and beat Crocodile. I'll take care of the bomb."

"If there's indeed one," Noctis remarked dryly, stroking his sister's hair tenderly.

Lelouch's gaze hardened slightly. "There _has_ to be one," he said confidently. "This bastard wouldn't put up an entire organization and create chaos and confusion in Alabasta just for some random _fun_. He has got to be after something buried in the capital – which has to be the grand finale of his plan. If the Nefertaris have been hiding a weapon that... that..."

He trailed off, his expression slowly fading into one of realization, then pure horror shook his whole body. Noctis and Sabertootoh looked at him, waiting for him to continue, but frowned when they noticed his ashen, horrified expression.

"Lelouch?" Sabertooth called softly, yet firmly, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Please tell us that things aren't going from critical to world-class horror right now, because _that_ would be seriously enough to get the bastard higher-ups from the World Government to act."

It might be a wild guess, and maybe he was just too stressed about this whole situation but then again, it might also be Crocodile's secret goal... Lelouch just remembered that Sphinx once told him something about a Poneglyph that was hidden in the sacred tombstone of the previous kings of Alabasta, protected by the Nefertari family for centuries. He'd been in the secret by king Cobra himself, since he was a friend of the royal family, and he had told Lelouch too in his second year of training. The inscriptions couldn't be read, but only one person in this world could – which was very bad, because she happened to be Crocodile's partner in Baroque Works.

Miss All Sunday, a.k.a Nico Robin – the last Oharan who could read Poneglyphs.

But what almost made Lelouch fall into panic was what the Poneglyph said: if what Sphinx and the king told him was actually true, then this stone would reveal to Nico Robin where to find the Pluto – one of the Three Antique weapons that were hidden in the Grand Line, three weapons of immense power that could destroy this world if fallen into the wrong hands. Lelouch's hands were shaking so bad that his Log Book and his pen had fallen on the sandy ground with a soft crunch, finally sending his two friends into a frenzy. Even Nasse, who had been slumbering peacefully, had fully woken up to crawl next to Lelouch, shocked by the horror they could read on his face.

 _Sabertooth. Noctis. Nasse._ _Sphinx._ _Pharaoh. Adma. Ali._ _Baala. And old Rê._ No one was safe if Crocodile was after the Pluto, Alabasta wasn't going to live another day if the Antique weapon was really hidden here. Everyone was going to die. _Everyone_ he loved. For a goddamn Antique weapon powerful enough to send the Five Elders of the World Government into sheer panic. No. No, no, no, no, this wasn't going to happen. If Nico Robin had any common sense left, she wouldn't give Crocodile the Pluto – was she mad? The Warlord wouldn't even know how to handle such power, the Antique weapons could be very much like the Dyna Rocks when used insanely.

Lelouch swallowed slowly, eyes wide. Then, a broken chuckle broke out of his throat as he stared ahead. His mind had settled on one thing that should leave his beloved country peaceful and able to recover from whatever strife that bastard put them through.

"Crocodile _must_ die," he said with a crazy look in his mismatched eyes. "Crocodile. Must. Die."

That was one look Sabertooh understood, and if he wanted his best friend to be spared from all the horror he was going to subject himself to, he was going to act.

"Alright then," the marksman smiled in a bloodthirsty way, mimicking a gun with his hands. "If that's your wish, Lelouch, then we'll grant it."


	9. The Wraith

**Author's Note:** Somebody asked me an interesting question: why isn't Lelouch a revolutionary yet? Why would he _want_ to? He's already done that – been there, done that, killed whoever had to be killed. Done. He's fulfilled his ideal as Lelouch Lamperouge, why the hell would he join yet another rebellious organization against the World Government? Nah, he's had his fair share of revolution and rebellion, let him live!

 **Author's Note 2:** Lelouch as a pirate? Huh, don't know about that. Might become some kind of... disturbing anomaly always getting his way? But he'll get to fuck up the World Government, that I _promise_ to you. I've already got something in my mind. _Ohohohohohoho_ , this is gonna be great. Of course he'll have his own crew _and_ his own ship: that's already in the works. Oh, and Lelouch and Hancock friends? Why not? As for Crocodile dying... Lelouch might have overreacted, but he shall not hurt the bastard too much. Just... _something_.

* * *

 **Chapter Nine:** _The_ _Wraith_

* * *

It happened three hours before dawn, and Lelouch wasn't prepared for it. Far, far from it. One minute he was sleeping peacefully (more or less), the next he felt himself being pulled from within and he couldn't do anything about that. He might still be sleeping to his friends, but they wouldn't even have the slightest clue to what was actually going on right now. And what creeped him out was that same voice he's heard before he landed _somewhere_ – a voice he thought he'd been imagining until now.

" _ **Now you can't run away, block me out with our own powers, or even ignore me. We'll introduce ourselves this time, Lelouch. No interruption, no one to pull you out of our own subconscious. After all, we share the same mind and body. We've been doing that ever since you ate me."**_

Lelouch looked around him, frowning in absolute confusion and shock with wide eyes. He was standing in some kind of... black and purple landscape that looked half desolate, half beautiful; the black landscape behind him was bare and sinister, with only one gigantic tree that looked so much like Yggdrasil, the World-Tree from Norse mythology. The leaves of said tree were grayish, almost silvery, much like the bark. It towered over Lelouch, dwarfing him and making the navigator feel so small compared to that giant thing. Nonetheless, it looked as majestic as frightening in that sinister environment and he could feel a dark pull from that tree, which almost made him recoil in disgust. But a big part of him wanted to touch the bark, feel the dark power humming through and burst with joy. _This_ was frightening. Turning around, he observed the purple landscape with an even more confused expression: it was completely different from the other one, since there was a mountain as large as it was long. The 'snow' was pale pink, a shade lighter than Euphemia's beautiful hair color, but it added a soft touch to this all-purple landscape. The mountain spread across both sides until he couldn't see both ends, which managed to frustrate Lelouch as he gaped, clutching his head in his hands.

And now his own subconscious was as creepy as weird – which meant even weirder than concluding that his Devil Fruit was an actual 'host' for some kind of entity. His mind was somehow... split into two opposite landscapes, as if there was someone else with him who lived inside his head. Just what the hell was going on right now? Why couldn't he go back to sleep?

" _ **Beautiful, eh?"**_

"What...?" Lelouch rasped as he whirled around, only to gasp at who – or rather _what_ – was facing him. His eyes widened as he took in the 'form' of his new found companion inside his own mind, his brain now suddenly halting.

The 'thing' that was looking right back at him was Lelouch himself, with his head and his smirk, and body and everything – except that he was covered in some dark and creepy shadow that seemed to stretch all over his body and cover whatever he was wearing; all black from head to toe except his hair (which were pure white), this entity had bright golden eyes shining in dark triumph and excitement as they took in Lelouch, who was gaping in shock. There was a patch of white skin surrounding the right eye, taking the particular form of a spiral. That thing's aura was very familiar to the one he always gave off whenever he was angry or on the verge of losing control of his own Devil Fruit, and it matched the one the gargantuan tree was also giving off. _This can't be true_ , Lelouch thought frantically as he shook his head, his expression horrified still. If this 'thing' actually was the voice calling to him each time he used the Terror-Terror Fruit to a certain extent before Sabertooth pulled him out of his trance, then he'd been nursing some kind of entity inside his own mind for years, ever since he ate that damn Devil Fruit.

'It' cocked his head to the side, his golden eyes now narrowing in amusement. _**"'Thing'? Now that's hurtful, Lelouch. We've been sharing the same mind and body for over ten years, it was about time to become intimate with one another, don't you think?"**_

Steeling his nerves, Lelouch had to gulp down the string of frantic questions before speaking. "Who... _what_ are you?" he gripped, his mismatched eyes never leaving the entity. "I've never heard of Devil Fruits hosting some entities..."

" _ **Ah, I'm actually a special kind,"**_ the 'thing' crooned as it sauntered toward Lelouch, who gracefully jumped twice backward to escape him. 'It' chuckled in mirth, a sound that ran chills down the navigator's spine as they seemed to appeal to him, but 'it' still followed him. Thus, a little game began on the half-desolate land of their mind. _**"one that completely terrifies the heads of the World Government, those we call the Five Elders. As you explained to your monkey friend, should someone as intelligent and insane as you have control of the Terror-Terror Fruit, the consequences on this world would be dire. A world ruled by fear would be absolute hell, but what if... all of it – the endless nightmares, the realistic illusions that would eat your midn – was only your imagination? Someone's incredible, mad imagination? Even Vegapunk would be overwhelmed by what we could accomplish together. Now, Lelouch,"**_ the 'thing' chuckled as it almost wrapped an arm around his shoulders to bring him close, but he slipped through like an eel, spreading his legs on the ground to avoid the embrace. 'It' looked down at him in slight annoyance, but shrugged its shoulders with a smirk. **_"this is part of what I am to the World Government: the horror. The abomination. So is Imagination and all the others that are still confined in Mariejois."_**

" _'Imagination'? The others?_ " Lelouch muttered after he did some somersaults to put some distance between him and the entity. He landed gracefully on his feet, furrowing his brows in confusion. "What are you – wait, are you saying that you're not the only entity living in those blacklisted Devil Fruits? _How_ is this even possible?"

'It' chuckled again, beckoning Lelouch with a black hand. _**"Come closer, and I'll tell you."**_

Despite his calm exterior, the shock had not subsided inside the navigator's head and the glare he sent the living entity was cold and murderous enough to make the most strong-willed people cry. But the entity merely laughed, the shadows seemingly vibrating around its person, and Lelouch steeled himself not to flinch – because he was literally looking at _himself_ , with _those goddamn golden eyes_ that reminded him of his accursed Devil Fruit, and it clearly meant that this entity was somehow...bonded to him.

And just thinking about that possibility made him feel weird all over; how could something like this even happen in the first place? And why Lelouch, when he could have a much more peaceful life in this world?

'It' blinked, and cocked his head to the side once more. _**"Bonded... yes, you can say that. We've become bonded the second you first reviewed someone's most haunting fear – which was that tall bastard, Donquixote Doflamingo. To answer your previous question about the blacklisted Devil Fruit**_ _ **s**_ _ **, I am one of those who haunt**_ _ **them in order to find a suitable host; someone who can function like we do – like**_ _ **an unpredictable, insane**_ **parasite** _ **.**_ _ **The kind of parasite that would make anyone act unlike themselves and disturb the balance of the world."**_ At those words, the 'thing' suddenly teleported itself, making Lelouch's eyes go wide for a second, and the navigator used all of his senses and Haki to track down the entity, alert. To his surprise, 'it' reappeared right behind him and, before he could swing and strike a deadly attack, caged Lelouch's head in his arms in a headlock. The entity clicked its tongue at its host's struggling, suddenly impatient. _**"**_ _ **Stop. Being in denial and refusing to accept me will only result in**_ _ **triggers, many triggers that will happen more and more because you just won't accept your other half."**_

" _ **I'm what you aren't, Lelouch,"**_ 'it' hissed in Lelouch's ear with a wide smirk, eyes glinting. _**"who you aren't, and you're everything I'm not**_ _ **and don't aspire to be**_ _ **.**_ _ **Call me... the**_ _ **Wraith**_ _ **.**_ _ **The Other One.**_ _ **I'm the entity everyone else would refuse to believe**_ _ **that**_ _ **actually exist**_ _ **s**_ _ **, I'm the one who causes endless nightmares, with no real chance or hope to escape from your deepest fears, I'm the one who is much more monstrous than the Boogeyman. I... am another part of yourself now, Lulu."**_

"Don't _ever_ call me that," Lelouch ground out, eyes flashing.

The Other One chuckled, shaking its head. _**"My apologies,**_ _ **Your Majesty,**_ _ **"**_ he said sarcastically – too sarcastically. Then the entity nuzzled its head against Lelouch's cheek almost lovingly, still smirking. Lelouch nearly jumped out of his own skin, utterly disgusted by this familiar, yet uncomfortably sweetness from the thing. _**"but understand this: this bond between us has been created the second your powers attacked Donquixote Doflamingo**_ _ **and nearly ate his mind; being a former Celestial Dragon has both its perks and downs, but that traumatic experience he and his brother went through in their younger years was absolutely**_ **fantastic!** **"**

The fact that the Wraith was drawn to Doflamingo's traumatic past didn't surprise Lelouch that much, because he actually expected that entity to have loved what it saw in those horrible memories, but what made the navigator sneer in astonishment was the sickening feeling in his mind; while he firmly thought that what he'd seen in Doflamingo's past shouldn't have happened to any child, Celestial Dragon or not, something whispered in his head that he _agreed_ with the Other One, that this traumatic and devastating past truly was fantastic and was beautiful in its horrible, sickening way.

 _Is this the Devil Fruit?_ Lelouch wondered in horror, closing his eyes shut. The idea was possible, since the Terror-Terror Fruit already showed signs of possession when he was about to unleash his powers on Blacken Felicio, and he'd been very careful with it ever since; not only was it a blacklisted Devil Fruit, but it also seemed to have a nasty, malevolent influence on him powerful enough to make him _appreciate_ or _love_ something so unbelievably horrifying. Was his own Devil Fruit influencing him somehow? How much of an impact on his friends?

The Other One, who'd been patiently listening to his trail of thoughts, hummed in agreement and released Lelouch's head, who nursed his neck with a grimace. _**"Why yes, Lelouch!"**_ 'it' cackled happily, sauntering around Lelouch, who eyed its shadowy form with narrowed mismatched eyes. 'It' spread its arms wide toward the moonlit sky – which Lelouch hadn't even noticed yet! _**"**_ _ **It's the beauty of our bond:**_ _ **my emotions affect you accordingly to your own, which would most of the time result in having murderous thoughts you can't control because I'm the murderous one between the two of us. Tell me,"**_ the Wraith crooned as it leaned down on the navigator, smirking widely at him like a Cheshire cat while the original just snarled. _**"**_ _ **how long do you think you can go on witholding such alarming secret from your friends?"**_

"If what you're saying is true, then you should already know that I plan on telling them as soon as I'm awake," Lelouch rasped coldly, getting back up. His chilling stare bore into the Other One's skull, not that it actually scared the entity to the core. "I've got no secrets for Saber and the twins."

 _ **"** **Oh, is that so...? Not even the most absurd secret surrounding the previous existence of Lelouch Lampe –"**_

Lelouch's hand blurred so fast toward the Other One's throat that 'it' didn't even see it coming; firm, deadly fingers wrapped around its throat, feeling the muscles struggle against the sudden and unexpected chokehold, and Lelouch briefly smirked upon seeing the surprised look on the entity's face – _his_ face – before it started to struggle lightly against his hand. Then, a cold, indignant outraged expression replaced the navigator's snarl as he leaned in to stare into the golden eyes that were the bane of his existence. Never had he felt so angry to almost hear that name again, in this world, because it didn't exist and would _never_ exist. No one should even hear it, not even his friends.

"That name," he muttered dangerously to the entity, the pupils of his mismatched eyes widening slowly. "has no place in this world. It has no meaning, no importance whatsoever. The man who was called that _died_ and will remain _dead_. There's no need to bring him up. No one needs to know someone from a past that holds no importance in a world where it had never belonged before, therefore I don't understand why you ought to remind me of who I was until I died – I _know_ , and I decided that it doesn't matter anymore. He's the past and belongs to it, he's _history_. I don't see why I should tell my friends, since they've never heard of the world Lelouch Lamperouge used to live in until his death. He doesn't belong here. Do you hear me, monster? Do you?" He shook the Other One lightly, squeezing a little more until 'it' rasped a "yes". "So I'm going to say one sentence, and I want you to repeat it after me. Got it?"

He needed to make things real clear with that monster living inside his mind; if the Other One was prone to taking possession of him from time to time when he wasn't careful, then putting his foot down before 'it' could even think of being too mischevious was the best course of option (since he doubted that thing could be killed without damaging himself). For now. Then, they'd work things out. But should he try anything against his friends, Lelouch would take more drastic measures.

"Lelouch Lamperouge... is _dead_ ," he ground out to the entity, softening the pressure of his fingers on the Wraith's throat enough for 'it' to speak. "Repeat."

The thing leveled Lelouch with one burning stare, silent for a few moments as they challenged each other in a game of wits and will, and Lelouch merely stared back. Both of their auras were strong and sinister, all over the place and would have had anyone sensible to fear highly sensitive to them. There was another deafening silence between the two of them, which was decisive, until the Other One finally opened his mouth and repeated the words that made Lelouch smirk.

" _ **Lelouch Lamperouge is dead," 'it' spat venomously.**_

Lelouch's smirk widened ever so slightly. "Again," he commanded.

The fuming expression he saw on the shadowed, identical face almost made him lose it. His horrifying self was beyond furious and he was enjoying every single second of it; play with something deadly, you might get mauled or killed. There was no way he'd take himself out by doing something drastic to his mind, but he didn't know what the Other One could do or say to anyone, so the safest solution he found was to stand his ground, stand up to that thing and shut him up. How long had it been since he'd had a potential host who was already insane to begin with? How long? If 'it' wanted to remain with Lelouch, he would have to be on his best behaviour.

" _ **Lelouch Lamperouge is dead."**_

"Again."

" _ **Lelouch. Lamperouge. Is. Bloody. Dead."**_

The smirk was now wide on Lelouch's face, and his eyes were shining in sickening mirth. " _A-gain_."

This time, an angry snarl deformed the Other One's face, and once again, Lelouch almost twitched at the eerie resemblance between the two of them – this wasn't even mimicking, it was the same gestures, expressions and reactions that made it so weird. It was just so disturbing that he burst out laughing, never breaking eye contact with the entity, who looked ready to jump at his throat as he kept laughing. Harder and harder, because he just couldn't help it: that monster right here thought it could seduce him into giving in, be one with the insanity his Devil Fruit actually was and never regret it. While the navigator had now accepted that his powers had turned him into some kind of wraith like those god-forsaken Nazguls in _The Lord of the Rings_ series, he was still very much attached to what was left of his humanity (his friends were what's left of it and he didn't want to get rid of it).

Lelouch was going to give that bastard a good reason to hate him just to show him that, while he may be very much insane, he wasn't one to be toyed with.

" _ **Feeling mighty, you insane navigator?"**_ the Wraith spat venomously, despite the wicked grin showing on its shadowy face. _**"Do you feel so confident that you can actually believe that you'd just force your will on me, so I can do whatever you say? I thought you were smarter than all those idiots I've corrupted after they've proven themselves unworthy of my power. It doesn't work like that, child."**_

"Oh, I know," Lelouch managed to wheeze between two chuckles, the same sickening mirth shining in his eyes. "I was making you do this to make a bloody statement you shouldn't violate, in case you want to die and wait an undefined time for another wielder to become your new host. See, Wraith? The problem we're encountering is that you're thriving for someone worthy of your might, someone who might understand and use the power you want to offer with a price, yet you fail to realize that you might have to sacrifice something as well." His smirk soon turned mocking as he caught the slight twitch in the Wraith's manic grin and eye. "To have power over someone, something has to be sacrificed. I sacrificed half of my mind in order to learn how to handle this Devil Fruit, but you making an appearance in my – _our_ – mind at the worst time has forced me to reevaluate a lot of things. And I _don't_ like this."

Mismatched eyes narrowed in repressed anger, as his other free hand balled into a fist coated with Haki. Somehow, the manic grin Lelouch was also sporting looked magnificent on him with his right violet eye flickering to gold for a few seconds before it came back to the original colour. "I don't like _unpleasant surprises_ that might actually mess up my plans to the point even I have to overthink."

If Lelouch thought he was used to the Wraith's mimicked expressions, he was however floored to see its features soften considerably in less than a few seconds after pondering his words; the insane expression he was previously sporting disappeared completely, leaving an expression of eerie calm that set him on edge almost immediately. The golden eyes closed softly, as if in silent acceptance. Lelouch could only stare at the Wraith, his face frozen in surprise. Then, his surprise shifted to astonishment when a somewhat sincere smile brightened its face – which looked awfully weird on the entity.

" _ **That's very strange, you know. None of your predecessors knew how to properly handle me or my influence on their conscience,"**_ the Wraith said absently, as if reminiscing. It snatched Lelouch's wrist in a strong grip before he could retract it to his side, preventing the navigator from backing off. _**"It's not just because your best friend is here to snap you out of your trance, it's also because you pretty much found a way to prevent me from taking over your mind and body. Is it your... mental state? Your willpower? Or your personality?"**_ Golden eyes opened, seemingly shining with excitement as they appraised Lelouch with a penetrating gaze, to which he did his best not to flinch. _**"There's still so much more to explore with our powers, yet you seem very reserved and hesitating... why is that? You've got much more potential than all of the other wastes that served as my host in the past."**_

 _That_ got a sharp reaction from Lelouch, whose eyes suddenly widened in anger and astonishment – the way he shifted from mirth to wrath was fascinating to the Wraith. "Wastes? _'Wastes'_?" Lelouch was almost shouting at the entity, enraged as his other hand fisted easily around its throat once again. "Humankind doesn't exist as a bloody test subject for you to see how you can create an empire of terror and horror, you bastard! _I_ _am not_ another test subject who will fail and become another waste, because I'll find a way to suppress you within my subconscious. I don't think you'll like it very well, since I'm mental."

The Wraith scoffed, rolling its golden eyes in a dismissive manner. _**"While I admit that your mind is something I haven't come across in a long time since my last host, I'm rather experienced in the matter of extreme insanity,"**_ 'it' drawled nonchalantly, slapping Lelouch's hand away easily. _**"I drove my previous hosts insane, so insane that**_ _ **some of them**_ _ **literally dug their own graves**_ _ **by**_ _ **threatening the one called '**_ _ **I**_ _ **m'. That was a pleasant experience. That is, until my Devil Fruit got locked up again**_ _ **in their damn vault for years before you showed up**_ _ **,"**_ the Wraith chuckled, shaking his head, but the golden eyes had taken such a vicious glint that the navigator felt the hatred burning behind that gaze.

And Lelouch immediately stopped listening and was now staring at the entity with wide, curious eyes. While he could represent himself the faces of the Five Elders pretty clearly, thanks to Admiral Kizaru's description of them the second time he and the tall Marine met, but this was a name he'd never heard before. _Im_. Who the hell was that and how did the Wraith know about him or her? And what's more, the burning hatred radiated off their bodies in waves, almost making Lelouch crumble under the powerful emotion wracking his insides. Just how could a simple name have such impact on a Devil Fruit?

A hand slapped on his shoulder, grabbing it painfully, and Lelouch grunted a little, blinking at the entity in confusion and curiosity. The Wraith was no longer smirking, and the expression adorning his face was positively eerie, cold and deadly. So whatever or whoever Im was, the Wraith hated his guts like no tomorrow and would kill to have his hands around that person's throat.

" _ **Curious, aren't you? Can't blame you, because that's someone you actually**_ **need** ** _to be wary of,"_** the Wraith said venomously. _**"Since you've become my newest host, there isn't just the World Government after you: Im himself has set to retrieve you at all cost, whether you're missing a limb or not – depends on how desperate the Five Elders will be to get you. Watch yourself, Lelouch. This 'Im' I hate so much might actually be the one to control the World Government and, most certainly, the world. So the Five Elders are his beloved puppets, as is the entire Marines corps. Should you ever get captured by Spandam or those bastards..."**_

For the first time ever since Lelouch ate his Devil Fruit, he felt his heartbeat drumming wildly against his ribcage as his whole body went suddenly numb and his mind blanked in less than a second. His face was contorted in a horrified expression of terror, which was ironic to say the least (considering he was the embodiment of fear), and he looked like he was about to scream. But no sound would come out, it was as if his throat had but all of a sudden blocked itself. It felt terrifying. Was this the influence of the entity living inside him? Was it _that_ powerful? Just how much more powerful could this Devil Fruit get?

The Wraith had a demonic smile and expression on his face as he stopped inches away from Lelouch, golden eyes wide in dark hunger.

" _ **...I will make you kill**_ **everyone** ** _,"_** he whispered in a dark promise.

These were the last words Lelouch heard before he felt himself being pulled away from his mind, as if sucked by an otherwordly force. He came back to his own body with brutal force, jumping awake and in cold sweat. He looked around wildly, looking for his friends; Saber was asleep not too far from his position on his right, his sword in hand, the twins were huddled up together on his left. It was still nighttime, but dawn was near – he could tell from the stars. Lelouch tried to calm his breathing, his unsettled mind reeling from all the informations he just got from his 'inside trip'.

He exhaled deeply, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead and sat with his elbows on his knees. That... was a lot to take in, and he needed to process everything one step at a time, but with the whole Alabasta ordeal that was about to get worse, he didn't have the luxury of time. The World Government, this 'Im' person who must be on top of the world and above the Five Elders – this was too much for the time being, and right now wasn't the moment to start plotting. Crocodile needed to be dealt with first, then he'd have to reconcile with Sphinx and see how king Cobra and princess Vivi intended to change things for the country.

 _ **Now isn't indeed the time, Lelouch.**_

" _What the –_ God!" Lelouch hissed in a low voice, having nearly jumped out of his skin. Hearing the Wraith's voice – _his own voice!_ – in his head when he thought he was somewhat back to being alone frightened him to the point he'd almost woken everyone up.

He breathed deeply for a few seconds, scowling at the ghost-like mocking laughter in his head. Having someone else in his head would give him gray hair sooner than later, and Lelouch would rather stay young and age like everyone. Now that he thought about it, he could sense something heavy in his mind – the presence of something far more powerful, with an astonishing willpower that felt overwhelming. It was almost suffocating to feel it, but Lelouch refused to be intimidated. _I suppose that now we've introduced ourselves to each other, you'll hear and see everything from now on? Couldn't you have told me that instead of frightening me while I was trying to process what you've shared with me?_

 _ **Aw, but where's the fun in that? Besides, you'd have figured it out on your own; sharing a body and a mind with me is the least you could do. But more importantly... what are you going to do with Crocodile? Due to what I've learned in your memories of your encounter with those Strawhats, I take it that you might not let him live another day?**_

Lelouch shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. A nasty headache was coming, probably due to his 'inside trip', and the Wraith wasn't making things easier by mentioning the Warlord; he was still thinking of killing Crocodile in the most gruesome way possible, but there had to be _something_ else he could be useful for. Should he be arrested and thrown into the lowest level of Impel Down, then Lelouch would have front seats to see if he'd been right all along – Straw Hat Luffy taking down Crocodile instead of himself, the present Marine officer in Alabasta getting all the honors despite doing nothing, and Lelouch might get Smoker in his pocket for the obvious reason that he might become disgusted with the World Government. At least, he'd have someone not corrupted inside the Marines; making another friend would be beneficial and terribly needed, as he had no idea who might betray him. Vergo was automatically out of the question, Admiral Akainu was a no-no and as for Admiral Aokiji... Lelouch was quite reserved. He still had to talk more with Admiral Kizaru to decide if he liked the man or not.

 _No. No, killing him would bring more problems and I don't want any more focus on me and my crew than we already have; some goons of the World Government are most probably on their way here to get me, so the least I should do is leave Crocodile alive, though that doesn't mean I can't plot something to trick Spandam into thinking he might get his moment of glory._

His lips slowly curved upward into a dangerous smirk that he didn't even feel as his own. _**Oh? Please do tell, don't keep**_ _ **me**_ _ **in the dark.**_

Moments of silence passed peacefully as Lelouch shared his plans with the entity, not leaving any juicy details that might conjure up some unexpected and unpleasant consequences. The World Government having most probably sent Cipher Pol agents in his pursuit, it would be best to confront them somewhere familiar where he'd quickly get the advantage; the desert would have to become Lelouch's friend once again after so many years apart, and getting rid of tenacious cockroaches without exposing himself could be dangerous. So there were more options presenting themselves to Lelouch and the Wraith. Much, much more delectable for both of them.

Spandam himself was the problem, since he was the one trying to capture Vergo's protege and parade himself with him as a trophy. As if being the chief of CP9 wasn't good enough for someone as despicable and pathetic as Spandam, he now desired to possess the wielder of a blacklisted Devil Fruit (even though there was little to no indication that the bastard actually knew, Lelouch still wanted him taken out). If there was anything Lelouch knew about greed, it was how far people would go to acquire something they desired – Spandam won't ever relent on capturing him, neither would he for Nico Robin. Such ambition was too dangerous, especially if he didn't even know how to handle such power at hand.

A feral smile had now bloomed on Lelouch's lips, positively vicious. _**I**_ _ **t would be even more**_ _ **magnificent if you lot visited him at Enies Lobby, where he'd think he's completely secure and protected by his dogs. But you've had that in mind, haven't you?**_

 _Without hesitation. While Spandam must expect his agents to come back with his newest trophy, he must also consider all possibilities of me killing them. Sending more would get the attention of his superiors, and the 'future hero of the world' would probably get yelled at for wasting the potential of the assassins of the 'Dark Justice'. Now that wouldn't be pleasant on his resume, would it? But I'm wondering: would Spandam descend into madness if we explored his fears and exposed him via a Transponder Snail?_

 _ **To the world?**_

 _No, let's leave it to his subordinates to find him in a state of absolute madness. That should be enough to discredit him, should he fall to our trap. But I'm pretty sure someone as arrogant as him would fall for that with open arms._

Looking up at the sky, Lelouch stifled a mocking laugh as both him and the Wraith reviewed the plan patiently. A bloodthirsty smirk bloomed on his lips, chilling and cold.

"And I can't wait to _taste_ your fears, Spandam," he murmured, swearing to whatever god up there that he'll get to damage the chief of CP9. "Now come out and play... come out and _play_ with _us_."

 _ **Actually, Lelouch, I know exactly**_ **where** ** _to start. Watch and learn._**

* * *

 _Enies Lobby, a few seconds later..._

Spandam wailed loudly as his teaccup suddenly crashed on the floor, the scalding hot liquid splashing everywhere. One might believe that the arrogant man had been incredibly clumsy once again, thus ridiculing himself, so they would ignore him easily as they were used to it. It had become a daily routine for anyone who knew Spandam, especially the members of CP9. But today, there was no cussing and screaming about his legendary clumsiness; instead, there was a frightening, chilling silence following his outburst and an expression of pure horror deforming his already messed up face.

 _I saw them_ , his mind kept chanting repeatedly like a demented mantra. _For a second, I saw them._ Spandam had gone pale, sweating profusely even though the temperature was rather cool around, and he was staggering toward a wall to prevent himself from crumbling to his trembling knees. He was breathing hard as if he'd just been running around like a madman, his eyes were wide and filled with an emotion akin to how much Rob Lucci made him feel whenever he threatened him.

When was the last time Spandam had been hit with such fear and terror? He couldn't really remember, as it was a hundred times worse than whatever Lucci, in his tall leopard hybrid form, had ever made him feel; the golden eyes that just flashed in his mind mere seconds ago were too familiar to be forgotten, and his father Spandine had once told him a story about how he'd nearly lost his mind to someone with golden eyes. And this certain someone had been the wielder of a terrifying Devil Fruit. Spandam, while not having encountered somebody with the golden eyes his father had described him, secretly hoped nothing would happen to him while he was relentlessly hunting down Nico Robin.

"Please, tell me this isn't going to happen to me," he pleaded as he all but ran toward his office some minutes later. "Not _me_ , not _now_."

Some bystanders turned to watch the chief of CP9 stagger very clumsily, curious and confused alike, inside his office and slam the doors rather brutally behind him. Spotting the Transponder Snail sleeping peacefully on his desk, Spandam rushed toward it and rapidly typed his father's number. He waited anxiously as the seconds ticked by, the only sound that seemed to echo loudly in this spacious room being his ragged breathing (and that sounded so terrifying in that deafening silence).

" _Hello? This is Spandine,"_ his father's voice said in the micro.

Spandam gave out a weird wail, half-crying, half-laughing.

"D-D-Dad? I-I think I'm next," he stammered, his body ready to burst with the nerve-wracking tension it was going through. "I saw _them_!"

" _Son, what on earth are you talking about? Who's 'them'?"_

"The eyes! Those golden eyes you've told me about years ago!" Spandam hissed loudly, eyes going wide in fear. "They flashed in my mind for, like, a second and just disappeared, but it was enough to make my mind go blank! A-and the terror I just felt – for God's sake, Dad, I've never felt such fear my whole life! Even though it only lasted a miserable second, it was enough to make me see a glimpse of _all_. _Of_. _My_. _Fears_. Me falling from grace, Admiral Aokiji never trusting me again, the World Government branding me as a traitor and throwing me into one cell of Impel Down... only to be forgotten forever until I died." He had to breathe several times in an attempt to calm his nerves, but failed. "A-all I want is to be recognized as the hero that would save this world from doom, I can't do it if I lose my mind!"

A brief, stunned silence followed his rushed words as Spandine seemed to process what he's just heard. Spandam waited anxiously, staring into the astonished eyes of the Transponder Snail with desperation and tears in his eyes. He hoped, dearly hoped, that his father could somehow deny his fears and tell him that the dark Devil Fruit that nearly cost him his life was still safely locked up in Mariejois – it _had_ to be, it _needed_ to be. At this point, Spandam didn't need any problem in his path since he felt he was on the way to become the hero the World Government needed. Denial may be a strong thing, but in his line of work, nothing could fuck up his plans. Nothing, no one and certainly not fear.

" _Spandam, son... are you sure you had a good night's sleep? You must be very stressed out with work, how about you go take a nap for an hour or two?"_ Spandine said carefully with a very neutral face.

Spandam didn't know what upset him the most – the fact that his father seemed so indifferent toward his impending mental breakdown, or that he had the gall to suggest taking a nap. But he still screamed in the micro to let his frustration known.

"A nap?! What good would a nap do to me after seeing those nightmares?!" he screeched. "How can I get work done if I'm not functional at all?! Can't you reach out and make sure that the Five Elders still got that Devil Fruit locked up in their vault?"

" _Don't be foolish, son. Are you now doubting the World Government – the same organization that has given you such status and importance throughout the years? Such impudence would cost you a lot, should you be caught saying this. Listen,"_ Spandine sighed heavily. _"while your description sounds accurate, there's no way to prove the Terror-Terror Fruit has been lost; last I heard, it's been recovered more than twenty years ago when its last wielder was killed by Admiral Kizaru and it's been safe ever since. It still is, in Mariejois and inside Pangaea Castle, where no such fool would be suicidal enough to break into the secret vaults and steal one of the darkest Devil Fruits there is. I'm not even ranked enough to ask such information, that would require someone highly ranked in the World Government to get an answer."_

Spandam swallowed thickly, wiping some sweat off his forehead. "But even so, shouldn't the higher-ups worry about any possibility that it _might_ be on the loose somewhere? I should have some agents out there, looking for any trails that may connect to the events of the Void Century and –"

" _NO! DON'T EVER PRONOUNCE THOSE WORDS EVER AGAIN!"_

The force of Spandine's sudden shout surprised Spandam so much that he jumped out of his seat, crashing to the floor and flinching hard. The Transponder Snail also hit the floor, but still reflected his father's outraged expression. A deafening and tense beat of silence passed between them as son and father merely stared at themselves, via the poor Transponder Snail, with terrified. However, the terror could still be heard in his following words and Spandam couldn't miss it at all, even if he tried to.

" _Don't... don't ever mention those events ever again in front of me, Spandam! And certainly_ not _via a Transponder Snail! How could you be so stupid to even utter those words inside a facility so close to Marineford?! I specifically remember telling you not to speak of those horrible events that have taken place centuries before the Void Century, and yet here you are, speaking about something that has been forbidden to talk about! You know you could be killed for speaking about such facts – even someone like you wouldn't be spared by the Five Elders, idiot! There are many reasons no one has to study the events that happened during the Void Century are better left unknown and I heard, from a certain source, that the dark Devil Fruits locked up in Mariejois are one of them. Remember what happened to Ohara and its archaeologists who sought to uncover the mystery of the Void Century?"_

Spandam gulped painfully. "Y-yeah," was all he could muster for an answer.

Spandine also took deep breaths to calm himself after all that hissing-screaming. _"Why do you think all those scholars were killed? There are some things that may very well be better left unknown and unheard of, and what happened during the Void Century is one. The best you can do is recover the plans of the Pluton and give them to your superiors, thus seeking a higher status. Leave that work to the CP9 agents you've dispatched and you'll be golden."_

Once again, Spandam nodded vigorously. Yeah, that's exactly what he needed to focus on: retrieving the plans of the Pluton for himself. And if Lady Luck was on his side, then he'd stumble upon Nico Robin and that would be killing two birds with one stone – he was certain that Lucci would see to it. Spandam couldn't wait to get his hands on the precious plans of the Ancient Weapon and Canterbury Lelouch; recruiting the prodigy that had grabbed the attention of so many high-ranked Marines and World Government officers (such as the chief of Cipher Pol Aigis Zero) was one of his top priorities, he'd be damned if he didn't succeed in bringing him to Enies Lobby before the bastard baby-sitter of the World Nobles got to Lelouch. Why should he get so worked up about a dark Devil Fruit that hasn't left Mariejois in such a damn long time?

His moment of glory will come for sure, sooner or later, and he'll be seen as the hero he truly was to the world by capturing those devils. Justice always prevailed.

Taking another huge breath, Spandam regained his swagger and overconfident composure. He picked up the Transponder Snail and smirked. "You're right, Dad. Pardon me for freaking out, I've been working too much these days," he said, forcing a laugh out. "This mission in Water Seven has been stressing me out, especially since I'm pretty sure this is the emplacement of the blueprints of the Pluton, so it's been a long five years."

His father smirked as well, chuckling. _"_ _Patience is a virtue, my son. Have patience, your agents will complete their mission and come back with the plans. It's only a matter of months from now on. Nothing should mess up, since you have the most powerful CP9 agent of history to do your deeds."_

This time, Spandam laughed for real. His frantic demeanor was slowly fading, replaced by a sick elation at knowing that he'd soon become one of the prime heroes of the World Government. The Five Elders would have to reward him for getting the plans of one of the Ancient Weapons – one element of the legacy of the Great War. Spandam tried hard not to drool over the fact that he'd soon hold the precious plans of one of them. With those in hands, he'd be able to build Pluton and so many will bow before him. Fear would only stall him enough to disturb his mind.

" _Son, there's absolutely nothing to worry about,"_ Spandine reassured, a satisfied smirk on his face, reflected by the Transponder Snail. _"No pirate would be foolish enough to challenge the World Government and disrupt their plans. Even the Four Emperors are rather careful not to piss us off. Who would be that wily and stupid to do so?"_

"Only idiots insane enough to even barge at our mouth," Spandam said before biding his father good-bye and hanging up.

* * *

 _Somewhere else, at the same time..._

Spandine put the micro back in its hold. As soon as the Transponder Snail fell back to sleep, the man suddenly crumbled on his desk, breathing so harshly that he sounded like he was about to cough up one of his lungs. His eyes were haggard, wide and filled with terror he hadn't felt in a long time. _I can't believe it_ , he thought fearfully. _How can this be?_

All of a sudden, Spandine's breathing calmed down slowly as he stood and sauntered toward the giant mirror of his office. He faced the glass, looked at himself, and a bloodthirsty, unfamiliar smile curved its way on his lips. Instead of seeing black eyes, there were horribly familiar and bright golden eyes staring right back at him with such malicious intent that he was quaking in his shoes. Or, Spandine felt like he was because he wasn't the one in control of his own body.

 _He_ was. And that was very terrifying to see that he was too weak to even try to force his will on the malevolent entity.

" _ **A son. A son just as ambitious and useless as you were back in the day, when I was about to destroy your mind. Nevertheless, I can't believe you managed to get this far in the World Government, Spandine. I guess being a sucker to kiss the asses of higher-ranked Marines and officers really works for you and your son. But Spandam,"**_ the Wraith sighed in a sickening, delectable way, **_is a nuisance that needs to be taken out. And so should you."_**

Being possessed by one of the most devilish entities in this world. It felt absolutely _terrible_ not being in control; seeing his mouth and body move without his consent was just awful, because being turned into a puppet through his fear of the Wraith was something he hadn't considered after the Devil Fruit was locked up in Mariejois. Spandine never thought that he'd see the day he'd be confronted to the Wraith once again, somewhere he could be terminated just because anyone would think he'd gone mad. Stuck in his own mind, Spandine could only watch in horror as the malevolent entity reached inside his coat pocket and took out his favorite pistol. _No, don't!_ Spandine screamed internally as the cannon of the pistol was pointed at his head. _H-how? How_ _is that possible that you're able to do this while locked up in Mariejois? Unless... unless you have..._

The awful smirk seemed to broaden even more, while the Wraith lifted a brow in defiance. _**"All I have to say is that my new host fits me. But let's go back to you: you didn't age well at all, Spandine.**_ _ **How long has it been, more than twenty years? Thirty? Something like that. I kind of want to say that I missed you, since your mind was the last I tried to eat before that blasted Kizaru killed my previous host.**_ _ **Could have succeeded."**_ The pistol emitted a soft, familiar 'click' that had Spandine screaming and begging in an almost sobbing voice. _**"**_ _ **Still can take you out right now."**_

 _Don't! I'm begging you, please don't do this!_ It was just incredible how people would let go of their many masks in front of an impending death. No more arrogance, no more swagger and overconfidence – just fear of dying. That was how they showed their true colors; the fear of death always followed the fear of life, and the Wraith had always known, back in the day, that the likes of Spandine weren't prepared to die any time and would never be. They'd always beg for mercy. That reminded the Wraith why he _loved_ taunting this man before his last host was shot dead by Kizaru's light beam. And at that moment, Spandine had a dreadful feeling that no amount of flattery could save his mind from being eaten – kissing his non-existent ass wouldn't work. But if he could spare his son that funest fate, then there was no other option.

 _What do you want?!_ _Why are you back?! And who's your new host?!_

" _ **So many questions for someone who doesn't have long to live anymore, it's very irritating. You haven't earned the right to even question me, as I'm enjoying my newfound freedom and my brand new host. But**_ **you** ** _, Spandine, have got something I've wanted more than thirty years ago: your mind and all the precious informations that are stuck in your aging, oversized head."_**

The pistol dropped from his hand, clattering soundly to the ground, then both hands slowly reached up to wrap themselves around Spandine's throat. The fingers squeezed and squeezed hard, digging into the tender skin, and the throat muscles contracted to resist the sudden strangling. Inside his mind, Spandine fought and screamed and begged, panic and fear cutting through his voice like a sharp knife. However, his willpower was easily crushed by the Wraith's enormous one, which was very telling about himself. He was going to die, he was going to die, he was going to die before he and his son could rise through the ranks in the World Government.

Then, his head suddenly exploded with thousands of flashes and voices that would have sounded familiar, had he been in his right mind. All of his fears, those he'd thought he'd buried long ago after the Terror-Terror Fruit was recovered and locked away – they just resurfaced with terrible images that felt so real. Spandine didn't hear himself scream in agony, flailing around like a madman. It just wouldn't stop ringing loudly and painfully in his head. It hurt, hearing all those voices accusing him of being anything he knew he wasn't.

" _We have no more use for you, Spandine. You've become what you must have always feared the most – a loose end. And leaving loose ends in this world is more than dangerous. This is a direct order from the Five Elders: either you die... or you'll be driven to Impel Down to be forgotten."_

" _How could you leave the knowledge of Spandam trying to revive one of the Ancient Weapons? Have you forgotten that the higher-ups of the World Government have forbidden any revival of these terrible weapons? The power they hold is too much for us to be controlled. And your son – Gods, that idiot son of yours – is going to get himself killed. And maybe he should, as he's considered a traitor to the eyes of the Five Elders."_

 _ **Interesting. So your ambitious, coward of a son wants to revive the Pluton?**_

There was a ghost-like, mocking laugh in his mind amid the accusing voices, dripping with venom and sickening elation at seeing in such a vulnerable state. But Spandine, in his mental breakdown and hysteria, didn't seem to register that people had gotten to him, alerted by his screams and nonsensical words, and were trying to help him out. Hands grabbed him, other voices tried to calm him down, but he couldn't listen; and when he laid eyes on his subordinates, he didn't see Marines – he saw the Five Elders, all of them. They still accused him of being a traitor, still threw him away like a broken, used tool and looked down on him, and Spandine spewed words of apology, stammering and tripping over his own feet when he tried to cling to each member. He begged, but they remained cold and unrelenting.

 _ **You still retain the same fears as thirty years ago. Pathetic.**_

"Someone get some chains, chief Spandine's completely gone insane!"

The same ghost-like laughter echoed once again in Spandine's fractured mind, stronger this time around. _**It's a shame you couldn't master your old fears, as that an enormous amount of courage would have banned me from taking over your mind once again and mislead your son in his assumptions. But as the arrogant, cowardly man you've always been, you refused to work on your issues. Alright, Spandine. It's time to bid farewell to the land of the living and embrace the dark paths of insanity.**_ _ **But not to worry, you'll become useful to us.**_

At the last word, an excruciating pain exploded in Spandine's head, ripping one of the most horrible screams from his throat.

* * *

 _Back in Alabasta, the Desert Kingdom..._

Lelouch opened his eyes quickly and blinked several times, his breathing evening slowly. The right eye, which had become bright gold after the Wraith started his deed, faded back to its original purple color. He also felt the unfamiliar scalding hot sensation of his powers cool down to a pleasant drum inside his body, which made him sigh in relief. But the downside of that massive mental attack was the extreme exhaustion that was numbing him on the ground, and Lelouch was too tired to be irritated at the fact that he wouldn't be able to move until dawn. He yawned, his eyelids becoming heavier by the minute.

The Wraith settled back into his mind, with his presence not as imposing as earlier. It almost felt... comfortable to feel the monster this way – it was as if he was accommodating his current condition, and the navigator appreciated this. The entity hummed pleasantly, as if entirely satisfied of the havoc it had just caused within the mind of a retired officer of the World Government. No, wait – he _was_ satisfied of his deed! Scoffing lightly, Lelouch tried hard to conceal his amazement at what he'd just witnessed by asking a question. All these informations they'd just retrieved from Spandine's mind, while some weren't interesting, were still something worth a small gold mine.

 _How... how did you manage to take over Spandine's body? I didn't know I could do such thing, which would be very useful in tricky situations._

 _ **Sleep. You need to replenish your energy.**_

Slightly incensed, Lelouch fought the sleep and attempted to force his willpower onto the Wraith. His own defiance and morbid curiosity needed to be sated, no matter how exhausted he was. _No, tell me. How –_

Something akin to a powerful mental punch hit him hard, and Lelouch fell back on his back, positively knocked up and asleep once more.

Next to him, Sabertooth was wide awake and scowling down at his best friend, scanning his body. His Haki had alerted him of a highly unusual activity with Lelouch, which had woken him up almost instantly. Since he wasn't unable to rouse him from sleep, he'd decided to watch and observe.

And the second golden eye hadn't escaped him. Thousands of questions were now flooding his mind, all unanswered, and his curiosity was piqued after witnessing the strangest thing yet with his best friend.

"What the hell, Lelouch?" he murmured, stunned.

* * *

After a quick breakfast with captured Sandora lizards, Lelouch told them everything that happened that night – the discovery of the Wraith inside his own Devil Fruit, how he became bonded to him, the information about that certain 'Im' who must be on top of the World Government, what the Wraith did to Spandine until he went absolutely mental. He didn't leave out any detail, as all those things were still fresh in his mind as they were settled on the back of another giant crab. While the twins looked both aghast and astonished, Sabertooth was more reserved and composed, looking down at him with those serious green eyes. The Wraith's full attention turned toward the hybrid, really curious to hear about his side of the story.

Lelouch bore his mismatched eyes into him, apprehensive. "How much did you sense last night?" he asked bluntly, turning toward him.

"A lot more than usual, and that's frightening," the half-Mink answered just as spontaneously, sitting down beside the navigator. His green eyes never left the mismatched pair, inquiring. "The way your powers surrounded your body, when you're not even conscious that you're using them, was completely different from the last times; your aura wasn't all over the place, but just circling you like a... protective halo? I really don't know which word would fit best to describe what I felt, but that's what my Haki sensed. It was something far, far more powerful than you, Lelouch," he admitted, worry now settling into his expression.

The Wraith hummed in appreciation. _**The Mink is more insightful than I thought. And his mental shields are raised around you, in case all hell breaks loose. Smart child.**_

"Agreed," Lelouch nodded with a sigh, looking away. His gaze settled on the horizon – that beautiful horizon that he used to love watching before training and now looked so foreign to his eyes. "I... I really don't know what he is and how old he is, but after seeing what he could do so easily to someone his previous host has laid eyes on, I need to be even more cautious than ever. His willpower, guys... that's something ten thousand times stronger than whatever I've felt around powerhouses such as Vice-Admiral Garp, Fleet Admiral Sengoku or Doflamingo. I don't think even Whitebeard could match that in terms of willpower and mental strength: while the Emperor is nearly ancient, something in my guts tells me that the Wraith is much, much more ancient than I think."

Noctis and Nasse looked at each other, bewildered, then both turned toward Lelouch. "As ancient as... the Void Century?" Nasse asked, crawling to sit right behind Lelouch. Both best friends stared at them, surprised that she'd know such thing. She slipped her arms around his shoulders, resting her chin ontop of his head. "Just because I don't always listen to so much serious matters doesn't mean I don't do my own research. If what that Wraith has told you is true, then he must belong to the unspeakable era of the Void Century."

"That old? We're talking about... more than _800 years ago_ in the past!" Noctis exclaimed, slumping on his back. "That's plain crazy! You're telling me that your Devil Fruit has been passed down to a crowd of people, who were later driven insane by this entity living _inside_ said Devil Fruit because they couldn't bear the crushing willpower of that thing... and you're now his wielder?"

He lifted his head to look at everyone, an expression of utter disbelief on his feline features. "Did I get everything right?"

Sabertooth nodded with a small smile, amused despite the somber tone. "That pretty much sums up everything regarding the Terror-Terror Fruit, yes. But then there's the situation with all the info inside Spandine's head." His smile dimmed a little and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "The fact that he's clashed with the Wraith thirty years ago, and nearly died, is bad news for us; he basically revealed himself to this bastard, even though he hasn't said Lelouch's name to sell him out, and there's a chance that Spandine will end up spouting things about golden eyes, a new host and some things of the same kind."

" _That_ shit can reach unwanted ears – those of the Five Elders if we're unfortunate enough," Lelouch almost spat, scowling. "To be honest, whether they kill Spandine off for becoming a broken tool or not, it's not safe to let him in such a state with the knowledge of the Wraith being on the loose for ten years. His previous host already clashed with Kizaru before being locked up again, so what if he manages to tell him about my Devil Fruit? Being insane sometimes has its perks in situations, and whenever you're having a mental breakdown, you know that whatever comes out of your mouth is _always_ the truth." He sighed tiredly. "Spandine's fragile state will stall Spandam for a while, that's for sure, but who's to say the bastard won't shout the Wraith's name to someone who might take him seriously?"

"You're right, Saber," Nasse muttered miserably, nuzzling her face in Lelouch's neck. "Leaving Spandine alive might be a mistake that can be fatal to us. And even though he's no longer mentally all there, maybe ending his life right now should be merciful to him, but beneficial for us? Lelouch, we know you would do it in a heartbeat. Can you reach Spandine's mind, trigger all of his fears once again, and have him commit suicide wherever he is right now?"

Lelouch blinked up several times at her, stunned. Nasse merely blinked back at him, aloof and cool. There was an air of seriousness about her that seemed familiar – was he somehow influencing her, the youngest of their small tribe? He knew she wasn't innocent and that she stopped being a little girl a long time ago due to her upbringing in that damn circus, but he'd thought that she might want to tone down the killing. He and Sabertooth killed whenever it was necessary, though there were times Lelouch would go overboard and frighten bastards to death until they went absolutely mental, but hearing that Nasse would really suggest such thing? _Damn_. That was too much influence.

"Are you OK with this?" Lelouch asked hesitantly, frowning slightly. "This is something I can't go back from, once I'm inside his mind, I won't let go of it until he's certified dead. This is a drastic decision, Nasse."

Her unseeing eyes remained aloof as she lifted a brow in slight defiance. "I am. I know. And I find myself not caring about the consequences of our implication in his death, should you be found out. But you're more important than one ambitious, weak-willed bastard who'll never be the same person ever again." Nasse closed her eyes, as if accepting her words and their meaning. "I would have done the same if it were Noctis."

"As would I," Noctis said firmly, nodding.

"See? You're outnumbered, Lelouch," Saber scoffed gently, nudging Lelouch on his side with a quiet chuckle. "Because we care, we all do. And you can't change that fact, even if you try to claim to hate us."

Lelouch's 'glare' was positively annoyed as he looked at each of his friends one by one. "But I _do_ hate you. You're unaware of that fact, but I might be plotting your demise in the shadows."

An expression of false incredulity settled on Sabertooth, Noctis and Nasse as they gave their friend and leader a sceptic look. They were silent for a few seconds, staring at each other. Then all of them burst out laughing, the tension lifting from their shoulders and minds for a little while as they all laughed.

Lelouch himself admitted later on that he felt somewhat better, despite having to listen to the Wraith's rebuttal of his friends' suggestion of offing Spandine. To say that he was rather disappointed about having to give up on killing the retired World Government agent was an understatement, but he quickly understood how the man could still be useful for a while before dying.

"So," Noctis inquired curiously. "how did Spandam take the news of his father going insane? A man as proud as him wouldn't ignore his father's condition for so long, I bet he dropped everything to rush at his side."

Lelouch was about reach into his mind, uncover some of the memories about the Wraith's magnificent handiwork when his Haki suddenly flared up and he was immediately alert, jumping to his feet. Saber was already up, ready to pull out his sword, having felt the spike around them as well, and both turned toward the source of that change in the atmosphere.

There, in the rays of the sunset, was someone walking casually toward them. Lelouch squinted his eyes a little bit, taking one of his favorite combat stances. He could make out some dark robes with flames on both sleeves and downward, open up front to show a well-built and slender chest. The most noticeable thing about that person was that loud orange cow-boy hat, adorned with two blue smiley faces sitting on the brim like goggles. The man was wearing dark shorts and boots in this unforgiving weather, which prompted Lelouch to question whether this guy had a death wish or didn't feel the heat of the desert. Nonetheless, the navigator's expression turned slightly stunned as he finally recognized that orange hat. Who actually wouldn't, when the owner had become such a big shot in the New World?

"Unbelievable," he muttered, his mismatched eyes widening slightly.

Beside him, the twins and Sabertooth shared the same reaction. "What's he doing here?" Nasse whispered frantically, slowly edging behind her brother.

"Looking for someone he wants dead," Sabertooth muttered as an answer, tilting his head slightly as the newcomer stopped once he was close enough (they had climbed down the crab to allow the giant crustacean to eat a little about fifteen minutes ago).

Black eyes looked at them emotionlessly behind droopy eyelids, but Lelouch was ready to bet that this man was a mighty fighter who earned his bounty – he wouldn't be worth millions otherwise. He observed them one by one, and his attention zeroed on the navigator as he inspected him silently. Relaxing his stance a tiny bit, Lelouch allowed himself to wonder what was going on through his head; had he offensed him somehow? Had he spiritually pissed in Whitebeard's favorite ale while in dreamland? If not, then what was a pirate of this importance doing in Alabasta? Surely he didn't have any unfinished business with the likes of Crocodile, did he?

"Might we know what such pirate like you is doing in this part of the sea?" Lelouch asked leisurely (almost too leisurely), though he remained alert for anything. "Or should we expect something else entirely different and unpleasant?"

"None from me," Portgas D. Ace replied, taking a few more steps until he was merely ten feet away from Lelouch. He and Sabertooth had some sort of short-lived staring contest, for a good minute, until both men decided to look away, annoyed with each other. "but from the cockroaches sent after you, wielder of the Terror-Terror Fruit. You've made some noise, you know. Can we talk?"

* * *

 **Author's Note 3:** Pfiou... that exhausted me. But I'm rather satisfied with the results. Let me enjoy your feedback, ok? By the way, I cried too much at the end of _Avengers: Infinity War (part 1)_ because my little Spidey died. What was your favorite moment?


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